'NO special counsel needed' for Hunter Biden probe or 2020 voting allegations, says Attorney General Bill Barr

THE outgoing Attorney General Bill Barr said there wasn't a need to appoint special counsels to probe Hunter Biden or claims of widespread election fraud.

Speaking at a press briefing on Monday, the ousted attorney general said he saw no reason to appoint lawyers to probe the president-elect's son or Donald Trump's repeated claims of a "rigged" race.

Hunter confirmed earlier this month that he was the subject of a federal investigation by the DOJ, which has been looking into his tax affairs since 2018 – a probe outgoing Attorney General Bill Barr was aware of.

Today, Barr told reporters that there is "no need to seize voting machines" after Trump's baseless allegations as GOP calls mounting for a special counsel to investigate Hunter.

He said Biden's son's case was “being handled responsibly and professionally.”

The head of the Justice Department made the comments after the president this morning claimed there was a "very big illegal ballot drop" in Pennsylvania, one of the key states clinched by Biden.

Trump confirmed Barr's resignation on Twitter after it emerged that he'd reportedly tried to keep the FBI's two-year Hunter probe under wraps before the election.

The FBI in Delaware and Washington, DC, were looking into money laundering claims and Hunter's foreign dealings, a source told Politico.

The feds are also looking into his transactions with foreigners who may have posed counterintelligence concerns, CNN reported.

While Trump may push for a Justice Department-assigned lawyer to investigate Hunter's tax affairs, Republican Senators Lindsey Graham and Ron Johnson weighed in on the controversy last Wednesday.

The president-elect reiterated that he was "confident" his son had done nothing wrong last week but Graham called "on a special counsel to look at all things Hunter Biden."

Graham said he "absolutely" would support appointing a special counsel to look into the 50-year-old's business dealings in Ukraine and China, describing it as a "good idea."

Trump is reportedly considering whether to push Attorney General Barr's replacement Jeff Rosen to assign a special counsel after announcing the attorney general's resignation on Twitter.

Today, the outgoing president branded this "fake news" and said he had "nothing to do with a federal probe into Hunter Biden's taxes and foreign deals."

"I have NOTHING to do with the potential prosecution of Hunter Biden, or the Biden family," Trump wrote. "It is just more Fake News. Actually, I find it very sad to watch!"

This supposed special counsel would advance the investigation into Biden's son but it could also create tension and possible showdown with Barr's replacement Rosen, who was previously the deputy attorney general.

Enraged that Barr didn't publicly announce the two-year investigation into Hunter before the election, Trump recently told one reporter to "ask me in a couple of weeks" if he planned on firing the attorney general.

He tweeted out Barr's resignation letter and said he would be stepping down before Christmas – a week after Hunter's bombshell probe announcement.

The Justice Department does not usually disclose investigations that are in progress although the subjects of those probes can – but Barr allegedly tried to keep the Hunter situation under wraps.

The outgoing president reportedly asked his personal attorney Rudy Giuliani to investigate whether the president has the power to appoint a special counsel himself.

Trump aides have supposed urged him to pressure Rosen to ensure the investigation can't be easily stopped once Biden takes office on January 20, recent reports suggest.

A special counsel can be fired only by the attorney general and for specific reasons such as misconduct, dereliction of duty, or conflict of interest under federal regulations and these reasons have to be put in writing.

It would also mean a more drawn out and complex investigation than the current inquiry, which has only focused on the 50-year-old's taxes.

The younger Biden was asked to hand over documents and information about two dozen entities, including Ukraine gas company Burisma in a subpoena.

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