US attorney general will not appoint special counsels on Hunter Biden or election fraud, undercutting Trump

William Barr, the US attorney general

Credit:  REUTERS/Yuri Gripas/ REUTERS/Yuri Gripas

William Barr, the US attorney general, has said no special counsel is needed to investigate Hunter Biden or allegations of election voter fraud, undercutting Donald Trump.

Mr Barr pushed back on the suggestions during a press conference on Monday about the Lockerbie bombing investigation where new charges were announced.

The stances clash with Mr Trump, who is said in multiple US media reports to be considering appointing special counsels to investigate both issues.

Hunter Biden is the son of Joe Biden, the US president-elect. His tax affairs are currently being investigated by the US Justice Department.

Mr Barr said on that probe: “I think to the extent that there’s an investigation I think that it’s being handled responsibly and professionally currently within the department.

“To this point, I have not seen a reason to appoint a special counsel and I have no plan to do so before I leave.”

On voter fraud, Mr Trump continues to push the baseless claim that he won the November presidential election against Mr Biden but that the win was somehow “stolen” from him.

Mr Barr said on that: "If I thought a special counsel at this stage was the right tool and was appropriate I would name one, but I haven’t and I’m not going to.”

Special counsels are investigators who can be established by the US attorney general and are given protected status in law to carry out their probes without government meddling.

That makes them more difficult to dismiss by US presidents than people leading normal US Justice Department investigations.

A special counsel was appointed to look into Russian meddling in the 2016 election, something that Mr Trump continues to express frustration about.

Mr Barr took up his post as attorney general in February 2019 and has largely been seen as a loyalist to Mr Trump, not least over the Russian meddling probe.

However since the November election Mr Barr has publicly said that his department has not found systematic voter fraud that would overturn Mr Trump’s defeat.

He will leave office on Wednesday, rather than at the inauguration on January 20, after Mr Trump became frustrated with his stances since the election.

It remains possible his successor could appoint special counsels.