Pence 'can't relate' to Biden over Hunter's special counsel appointment: 'My son...was defending this country'
Pence's son has served as an F-35 pilot in the U.S. Marine Corps
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Former Vice President Mike Pence said Friday that he "can't relate" to President Biden concerning the appointment of a special counsel in the Hunter Biden probe, because his son was "defending this country" in the military while he was serving as vice president.
"I just heard news that the appointment of the special counsel in the matter involving President Biden's son Hunter. To be honest with you, I can't relate to what his son was doing when he was vice president. When I was vice president, my son was flying an F-35 for the Marine Corps defending this country," Pence said during a press gaggle at the Iowa State Fair.
"But I think it's about time that we saw the appointment of a special counsel to get to the bottom of not only what Hunter Biden was doing, but what the Biden family was doing. The American people deserve answers, and I welcome the appointment," he added.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}President Joe Biden (left), former Vice President Mike Pence (center), and Hunter Biden (right). (Getty, Reuters)
Earlier on Friday, Attorney General Merrick Garland appointed U.S. Attorney David Weiss as special counsel in the Hunter Biden probe, as well as any other matters that arose or may arise from that investigation.
Weiss is the federal prosecutor who has investigated the business dealings of Hunter Biden and brought charges against him in Delaware. His appointment as special counsel indicates that, contrary to Hunter's defense lawyers' claims, the Department of Justice investigation into President Biden's son is not over.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Other Republicans have also sounded off over the appointment, torching Garland's selection of Weiss, who led the prosecution in Hunter Biden's tax and gun charges, to head up the special counsel probe.
Former Vice President Mike Pence, 2024 Republican presidential candidate, speaks with members of the media during the Iowa State Fair in Des Moines, Iowa, US, on Friday, August 11, 2023. (Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., called Garland's announcement "part of the Justice Department’s efforts to attempt a Biden family coverup in light of [House Oversight Republicans'] mounting evidence of President Biden’s role in his family’s schemes selling ‘the brand’ for millions of dollars to foreign nationals."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Comer said Garland's "move is really about" the DOJ "trying to stonewall congressional oversight as we have presented evidence to the American people about the Biden family's corruption."
"This action by Biden’s DOJ cannot be used to obstruct congressional investigations or whitewash the Biden family corruption," House Speaker Kevin McCarthy tweeted Friday.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
"If Weiss negotiated the sweetheart deal that couldn’t get approved, how can he be trusted as a Special Counsel?" McCarthy added. "House Republicans will continue to pursue the facts for the American people."
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Fox News' Chris Pandolfo, Jake Gibson, David Spunt and Houston Keene contributed to this report.