Hunter Biden said Sunday that he believes former President Joe Biden’s decision to appoint Merrick Garland as attorney general was the “single greatest mistake” of his father’s administration, as reported [1] by The New York Post.
Hunter Biden made the remarks during an appearance on the “I’ve Had It” podcast while discussing Garland’s leadership of the Department of Justice. The conversation included criticism of Garland’s handling of investigations involving President Donald Trump as well as the Justice Department’s investigation of Hunter Biden.
Host Jennifer Welch criticized Garland before asking Hunter Biden for his assessment of the appointment.
“One of the things that pisses me off is the Merrick Garland DOJ and the not prosecuting of Trump. And that they prosecuted you,” Welch said before asking her question.
Hunter Biden responded by placing responsibility for Garland’s appointment on his father while criticizing Garland’s tenure as attorney general.
“My take is this, and removing myself from it as much as I can, my personal feelings, is the single greatest mistake of my father’s administration was the leadership of Merrick Garland,” Hunter Biden said.
He continued, “The reason that we are in the situation that we’re in right now can almost… by the way, the buck has to stop with my dad. He was the president, and he chose him. Now, once he chose him, he played by the, you know, a higher standard than the Marquess of Queensberry rules. He played by the Constitution and the tradition that the president will never, you know, particularly since Nixon, involve himself in any decision-making as relates to anything at the Department of Justice. So, I guarantee you there was a division between church and state there.”
Hunter Biden also criticized Garland’s approach to investigating President Trump following the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol.
“[I]f Merrick Garland had started a completely 100% legitimate investigation rather than thinking like let’s not fan the flames… did you not watch what I watched? Did you not see the people storming the Capitol of the United States of America, beating cops and running congressmen and senators literally out of the building? You didn’t see that? You didn’t see a president and know that it was a concerted and planned effort on their part beginning all the way back from the day before the election when they knew they were going,” Hunter Biden said.
During the discussion, both Welch and Hunter Biden described Garland as a moderate and discussed why he believed Garland had been selected for the position. Welch referenced Garland’s unsuccessful nomination to the U.S. Supreme Court during the Obama administration.
“Obama picks this milquetoast candidate. Your dad is a decent man, felt bad about what happened to Merrick Garland. And he played integrity politics. Like, well, ‘I’m going to make him whole and make him attorney general.’ And then Merrick Garland gets there, and he’s like, ‘Well, we can’t upset these crusty White Republicans,'” Welch said.
Hunter Biden replied, “Massive mistake.”
Garland was nominated by former President Joe Biden to serve as attorney general after Biden took office in 2021. During Garland’s tenure, the Justice Department oversaw investigations involving both Hunter Biden and President Trump.
Hunter Biden had been under federal investigation since 2018 during President Trump’s first administration.
In the closing weeks of his presidency, Joe Biden issued a pardon covering offenses that Hunter Biden “has committed or may have committed” between Jan. 1, 2014, and Dec. 1, 2024.
The podcast appearance marked one of Hunter Biden’s most direct public criticisms of personnel decisions made during his father’s administration, with his comments focusing specifically on Garland’s leadership of the Department of Justice.