GOP presidential candidate Ron DeSantis slammed the special counsel appointed in the investigation of Hunter Biden, adding to complaints from Republicans over the Department of Justice’s handling of the case.
“This is going to be a total sham special counsel,” DeSantis told reporters Saturday at the Iowa State Fair. “The House, they’ve been working on supposedly holding Hunter Biden accountable,” he continued. “I think [the administration is] trying to checkmate that investigation … they’re trying to kneecap the House’s ability to investigate.”
Republicans torched Attorney General Merrick Garland on Friday for appointing U.S. Attorney from Delaware David Weiss as special counsel in the ongoing federal investigation of Hunter Biden. Weiss has been investigating the first son since 2018 and hasn’t really gotten anywhere, considering that the investigation is still ongoing.
DeSantis said Weiss is “the same guy who had been doing it with kid gloves anyways,” referring to the sweetheart plea deal offered to Hunter to avoid jail time. The deal was ultimately rejected by U.S. District Judge Maryellen Noreika on July 26. The untenable deal had been negotiated by Weiss’s office.
DeSantis’ remarks came as he attended Iowa’s state fair, an obligatory stop for presidential hopefuls. The Florida governor was one of many Republicans who descended upon the fair to pitch their message to Iowans.
GOP presidential candidates Donald Trump, Nikki Haley, and Vivek Ramaswamy — and Ron DeSantis — were among those who attended Iowa’s state fair on Saturday.
Haley was seen wearing a T-shirt reading, “Underestimate me, that’ll be fun,” according to the Associated Press, while billionaire tycoon Ramaswamy rapped to Eminem’s “Lose Yourself” at the fair.
Ramaswamy ended his fire-side chat rapping to “Lose Yourself” pic.twitter.com/CP9wiohq9t
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— Caroline Vakil (@CarolineVakil) August 12, 2023
At the fair, DeSantis clashed with supporters of former President Donald Trump, who held banners taunting the governor. “Be likeable, Ron!” read banners, a reference to the governor’s “lack of personality” at times.
Related: Trump Is in Iowa, Playing Cat and Mouse With DeSantis
While DeSantis was flipping pork chops at the fair, a tradition for GOP candidates, a group of Trump supporters began chanting, “We love Trump.” The governor’s fans responded, “USA, USA!” according to the Des Moines Register.
Trump was met with thousands of supporters as he descended onto the fair. The former president greeted a packed house inside the fair’s Steer N Stein restaurant, where he delivered remarks for 10 minutes and introduced Reps. Matt Gaetz, Byron Donalds, and Greg Steube, who flew with him to Iowa.
Trump close at Steer N Stein pic.twitter.com/IReDD0GqPW
— Ty Rushing (@Rushthewriter) August 12, 2023
“The other candidates came here, they had like six people,” Trump bragged in the packed restaurant while reminding listeners of his large lead in polls. “We are going to take care of our country, we’re going to take care of Iowa, and you’ll be proud of our country again.”
