By David Shepardson and Sarah N. Lynch
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Incoming acting U.S. Attorney General Jeffrey A. Rosen declined to say on Wednesday whether he would name special counsels to investigate President Donald Trump’s claims of election fraud or the tax issues of President-elect Joe Biden’s son Hunter.
Rosen, who is set to take over when William Barr steps down on Dec. 23, told Reuters in an interview at the Justice Department that he would continue “to do things on the merits and to do things on the basis of the law and the facts.”
Trump, who leaves office on Jan. 20, has been considering calling for the appointment of a special counsel for Hunter Biden, according to a person familiar with the matter.
During his expected few weeks in the top job, Rosen said “I think of it a little bit like a developer with a punch list. We’re going to try to finish the work we’re here to do.”
Rosen added: “Let’s continue on the course we’ve had.”
Rosen declined to say if he agreed with Barr’s assessment in a recent Associated Press interview that “we have not seen fraud on a scale that could have effected a different outcome in the election.” Rosen also declined to say if he had spoken to Trump since he was tapped.
(Reporting by David Shepardson and Sarah N. Lynch; additional reporting by Steve Holland; Editing by Scott Malone and Grant McCool)
