Attorney General Garland to testify before Congress as questions mount over Biden probe

Attorney General Merrick Garland appears Wednesday afternoon before the House Judiciary Committee in a hearing in which he is expected to face questions from the Republican-led panel about the Justice Department's handling of the Biden family's overseas business dealings and alleged political bias within the agency.

Under Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, the committee has conducted a rigorous inquiry into the alleged weaponization of the federal government and has, in particular, zeroed in on the DOJ's years-long investigation into first son Hunter Biden over tax and other matters.

Appearing on the Just the News, No Noise television show Tuesday evening, Jordan made clear the Biden investigation would feature heavily in the hearing and that he intended to contrast the DOJ's conduct in that case with that of its indictments of former President Donald Trump.

"We have Merrick Garland coming in. We're going to get a lot of questions, I think for him regarding how the Department of Justice handled the whole, the whole Hunter Biden investigation," Jordan said. "[Special counsel] David Weiss in his, you know, changing story, the White House is changing story. So I'm sure there will be questions there."

"And sort of this, this this double standard that we all see where you have one special counsel and David Weiss and the way he's conducted an investigation versus Jack Smith, and the way he's attacked President Trump, and has now two indictments one in Miami, one in DC, I think that'll be one of the themes as well," he continued.

Pressed on reports that the Delaware U.S. Attorney David Weiss (now special counsel) had shut down an investigation into President Joe Biden's campaign and its possible receipt of illegal campaign contributions, Jordan suggested such a revelation would not be unexpected given what Congress has learned from IRS whistleblowers Gary Shapley and Joseph Ziegler or FBI agents.

"[I]t wouldn't surprise me if they were told to stand down because remember this investigation over a five-year timeframe, it was slow walked," he responded. "This is not just Mr. Shapley and Mr. Ziegler, who say that, but it was also the FBI agents who confirmed that this investigation moved at a very slow pace, the two that we were able to depose."

"And then of course, you have this is the investigation that tipped off the defense counsel when a search warrant's coming," he went on. "This is the investigation, David Weiss to put together [sic] the plea agreement that the Court said 'this is ridiculous. We're not going to accept this.' So it shouldn't surprise us that they shut down another line of questioning and investigation that the agents wanted to do. If in fact, that's what happened."

"[T]his is something that I think is a concern, because you know, you had this individual come in and cover Hunter Biden's tax liability. That's kind of interesting. And then was in fact that a contribution to Mr. Biden's campaign when he ran for president?"

Jordan further pointed to an array of issues about which he had concerns to address with Garland, including alleged acts of retaliation against the IRS agents who blew the whistle on the Hunter Biden case. He further pointed to seemingly conflicting statements from Weiss and Garland about his authority to bring charges of his choosing prior to Weiss's appointment as special counsel.

"David Weiss has told us multiple things. He told us on June 7, that he had full authority to determine when, where, and whether to file charges," Jordan said. "But then 23 days later, he writes us again and he says, 'I stand by what I wrote on June 7, but I want to expand: my authority is limited to my US attorney's district in Delaware.' Well, it can't be both things."

"And then he then he made it even more confusing. When on July 10 he wrote Senator [Lindsey] Graham, and he said to Senator Graham, 'I want to clarify, I have not sought Special Counsel status. But I've had discussions with the folks at the Department of Justice,'" Jordan continued. "So one of the key questions I think we've got to ask tomorrow, who did you talk with? Who would you talk with in those discussions? Who told you yes?, Who told you no? What were the discussions about because something happened between July 10 when he said 'I didn't seek Special Counsel status' and August 11, when Merrick Garland announces, 'David Weiss asked me and I'm now granting Special Counsel status.'"

"What happened in those 32 days? What took place?" he concluded.

Ahead of Garland's planned appearance, the Ohio Republican released what amounts to a video trailer for the hearing, compiling clips of testimony from the IRS whistleblowers with that of Garland and remarks from Jordan himself.

Why hasn't DOJ been square with us? pic.twitter.com/NnIy0E4fWr

— Rep. Jim Jordan (@Jim_Jordan) September 19, 2023

"Why hasn't the DOJ been square with us?" Jordan asked.

Ben Whedon is an editor and reporter for Just the News. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter.