U.S. Attorney General William Barr said he has "no plans" to appoint a special prosecutor to investigate Hunter Biden, the son of President-elect Joe Biden, during a  press conference on Monday.

Barr is set to relinquish his duties as Attorney General of the United States this week.

“To the extent that there’s an investigation, I think that it’s being handled responsibly and professionally currently within the department, and to this point, I have not seen a reason to appoint a special counsel and I have no plan to do so before I leave,” Barr said.

The question regarding the matter was posed to Barr after rumors had surfaced that President Trump was working behind the scenes to appoint a special prosecutor to look into Biden's dealings with China, Russia, and Ukraine.

Trump has since shot down the claim in a tweet, saying “I have NOTHING to do with the potential prosecution of Hunter Biden or the Biden family. It is just more Fake News. Actually, I find it very sad to watch!”.

Earlier in December, the President-elect's son announced investigators were looking into his "tax affairs." Commenting on the investigation in an interview with late-night host Stephen Colbert, Biden said, “Look, I have, we have great confidence in our son. I am not concerned about any accusations that have been made against him."

The President-elect further added, “I think it’s kind of foul play, but look, it is what it is. He’s a grown man. He’s the smartest man I know, in terms of pure intellectual capacity. As long as he’s good, we’re good."

While Joe Biden characterizes the investigation as foul play, it has been revealed in a series of leaked texts that Hunter Biden along with close business associates attempted to cobble together a joint business venture with Chinese energy firm CEFC.

To make matters worse, the venture implicates not only Hunter but also Jim Biden, Joe's brother. At one point, Hunter's business associates lobbied to get President-elect Joe Biden in the scheme.

It is unknown at this time whether Joe Biden attended any meetings with CEFC members.

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