President Joe Biden made no shortage of controversial decisions during his four years in office, from the withdrawal from Afghanistan to his decision to seek a second term before ultimately stepping aside. His choice of Merrick Garland as attorney general has also remained a frequent point of debate, particularly among critics of the Biden administration.
One person who now says Garland was a major mistake is Hunter Biden.
During an appearance on Jennifer Welch’s “I’ve Had It” podcast, released Sunday, the former president’s son argued that Garland’s leadership of the Justice Department was the biggest error of his father’s presidency. The comments were notable because Hunter Biden himself was prosecuted during Garland’s tenure, ultimately being convicted on federal gun charges and pleading guilty in a separate federal tax case before receiving a presidential pardon from his father.
BREAKING 🚨 Trump’s team is getting a list of all the US Military officials involved with the botched Afghanistan withdrawal 👏
Charges of “TREASON” are being considered for some of the Military officers
NO JUSTICE, NO PEACE 🙏 pic.twitter.com/1NUUnw0isR
— MAGA Voice (@MAGAVoice) November 17, 2024
The conversation began when Welch criticized Garland’s handling of both the investigations into Donald Trump and Hunter Biden.
“One of the things that p***es me off is the Merrick Garland DOJ and the not prosecuting of Trump, and that they prosecuted you,” Welch said.
In practice, Garland sought to distance himself from politically sensitive investigations by appointing special counsels. Delaware U.S. Attorney David Weiss was given special counsel authority in the Hunter Biden investigation, while Jack Smith was appointed to oversee the federal investigations involving President Donald Trump.
Hunter Biden nevertheless argued that Garland failed to pursue Trump aggressively enough while allowing prosecutors to focus intensely on him.
“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 said.
He acknowledged that responsibility ultimately rested with President Biden because Garland was his appointment.
“The buck has to stop with my dad,” Hunter said. “He was the president and he chose him.”
Hunter also defended his father by arguing that President Biden maintained a strict separation between the White House and the Justice Department.
“He played by the Constitution and the tradition that the president will never, particularly since Nixon, involve himself in any decision-making as relates to anything at the Department of Justice,” Hunter said. “I guarantee you there was a division between church and state there.”
Joe Biden said he wouldn’t pardon Hunter Biden: Good for Joe. pic.twitter.com/7YFj5eSeXX
— Shannon Ford 🇺🇸 (@shannonfordUSA) December 2, 2024
From there, Hunter shifted his focus to the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol, arguing that Garland should have acted more aggressively in investigating Trump.
“If Merrick Garland had started a completely 100 percent legitimate investigation rather than thinking, like let’s not fan the flames… did you not watch what I watched?” Hunter asked.
He continued by describing the events at the Capitol as a coordinated effort, questioning why Garland had not moved more quickly against Trump.
Those remarks come despite the Justice Department’s extensive prosecutions related to Jan. 6. According to federal officials, nearly 1,600 defendants had been charged in connection with the Capitol breach by early 2025, making it one of the largest criminal investigations in the department’s history.
Hunter Biden: “The single greatest mistake of my father’s administration was the leadership of Merrick Garland. Did you not see these people storming the Capitol? You didn’t see a president and know that there was a concerted and planned effort? He doesn’t do anything. We don’t… pic.twitter.com/AkpCRusQUv
— Reggie B. (@reggiebblue) July 18, 2026
Welch also criticized Garland, suggesting that Biden appointed him partly because Garland had been denied a seat on the Supreme Court after Senate Republicans declined to consider his nomination in 2016.
“Obama picks this milquetoast candidate,” Welch said. “Your dad is a decent man, felt bad about what happened to Merrick Garland… and then Merrick Garland gets there, and he’s like, ‘Well, we can’t upset these crusty White Republicans.'”
“Massive mistake,” Hunter replied.
Hunter Biden’s recent media appearances have drawn renewed attention as he has begun speaking publicly after largely staying out of the spotlight following his father’s departure from office. His criticism of Garland marks one of his sharpest public rebukes of a senior official from the Biden administration.
