Attorney General Merrick Garland made headlines on Friday when he appointed U.S. Attorney David Weiss to serve as a special counsel in the investigation of Hunter Biden. However, that move left many Republicans unimpressed.

They pointed to the fact that Weiss previously allowed the statute of limitations to run on multiple felony charges that could have been brought against the president's son. 

House Intelligence Committee chair calls Weiss' actions "prosecutorial malpractice"

One of the detractors is House Intelligence Committee Chairman Mike Turner, who expressed his concerns during a Sunday appearance on CBS News' "Face the Nation."

According to Mediaite, host Margaret Brennan asked Turner why he thought Weiss would let the statute of limitations expire.

Turner responded by pointing to congressional testimony given last month by IRS whistleblowers who alleged that they had faced interference from the Department of Justice when investigating Hunter Biden for tax violations.

"There’s some question as to whether or not it’s prosecutorial misconduct, but it certainly could be, you know, prosecutorial malpractice," Turner added.

"The prosecutor, Weiss, had been working with Hunter Biden and his attorney, and actually getting waivers from, for those tax limitations period," the Ohio congressman continued.

Alan Dershowitz has "never seen the statute of limitations run out"

"And he stopped getting the waiver. So he certainly was knowledgeable, aware that it was going to be expiring. And then something occurred where he allowed those to expire," Turner stressed.

It isn't just Republicans who are voicing suspicions, as longtime Democrat and former Harvard Law School professor Alan Dershowitz is expressing them as well.

Dershowitz told Fox News on Monday that he has "been doing this for 60 years" and has "never seen the statute of limitations run out" during the course of an investigation.

Law professor questions Weiss' appointment

"As it's about to run out, prosecutors always say to the defense attorney through his lawyers, 'Look, either give us a tolling agreement, let's extend the statute, or we're going to indict you tomorrow,'" he explained.

Dershowitz went on to declare that he has "never heard of a situation where by accident the statute of limitations runs out."

The legal scholar also took issue with Weiss' appointment as special counsel, saying, "The regulation provides clearly that special counsels have to come from outside the government--for good reason. What's so special about a special counsel is that he doesn't have to answer to the present administration."