(Thursday PO) AG Garland defends DOJ's Hunter Biden investigation at House Judiciary hearing

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https://www.npr.org/2023/09/20/12004306 ... ss-hearing

In an at-times combative hearing that lasted nearly six hours, House Republicans on the Judiciary Committee grilled Attorney General Merrick Garland largely over the agency's investigation into Hunter Biden.

The hearing was meant to be part of the committee's standard oversight duties, but the morning's meeting between the U.S.'s top prosecutor and the panel's Republican members got heated.

As expected, Garland was badgered by Republican members with questions and accusations of political bias and interfering in investigations on behalf of the Biden family.

Congressional Republicans have long criticized Garland and his department for exactly that — even floating the idea of opening an impeachment inquiry into Garland.
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Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan set the tone at the start of the hearing saying: "The fix is in. Even with the face-saving indictment last week of Hunter Biden, everyone knows the fix is in."

Jordan and other GOP lawmakers called Garland out for a perceived "two-tiered" system of justice when it came to investigating Republicans and Democrats.

That's due to the investigations into President Joe Biden's handling of classified material; of his surviving son, Hunter Biden; and of former President Donald Trump.

Garland stood firm and defended his agency as well as the independent work of special counsels David Weiss, who is investigating Hunter Biden, and Jack Smith, the lead prosecutor in federal cases against Trump.

In his prepared statement to the committee, Garland said: "There is not one set of laws for the powerful and another for the powerless; one for the rich, another for the poor; one for Democrats, another for Republicans; or different rules, depending upon one's race or ethnicity or religion."
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He continued, "As the President himself has said, and I reaffirm here today: I am not the President's lawyer. I will also add that I am not Congress's prosecutor."

The White House didn't mince words: This hearing was a "circus," a "sideshow" and a "distraction," Ian Sams, the White House spokesperson for oversight and investigations, said in a statement.

"Extreme House Republicans are running a not-so-sophisticated distraction campaign to try to cover up their own actions that are hurtling America to a dangerous and costly government shutdown. They cannot even pass a military funding bill because extreme House Republicans are demanding devastating cuts like slashing thousands of preschool slots nationwide and thousands of law enforcement jobs including border agents, so they cranked up a circus of a hearing full of lies and disinformation with the sole goal of baselessly attacking President Biden and his family," Sams said.
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The statement continued: "Don't be fooled: they want to distract from the reality that their own chaos and inability to govern is going to shut down the government in a matter of days, hurting our economy and national security and jeopardizing everything from troop pay to fighting fentanyl. These sideshows won't spare House Republicans from bearing responsibility for inflicting serious damage on the country."
Garland objects to questions over 'Catholic extremism'

Garland, who remained largely stoic during the hearing, became emotional as he spoke personally about why he has spent his professional career in law as a prosecutor, a judge and now as the nation's top law enforcement officer. His grandmother fled religious persecution in Eastern Europe and made it to the U.S., where she was protected under the nation's laws. Other family members were not as lucky and were killed in the Holocaust, he said.

"Repaying this country for the debt my family owes for our very lives has been the focus of my entire professional life," Garland said with his voice cracking.

His family's background came up later in the hearing when Garland became visibly angry in an exchange with Republican New Jersey Rep. Jeff Van Drew. The congressman questioned Garland over a now-withdrawn memo from the FBI's Richmond office targeting extremism in Catholic churches.

Van Drew pressed Garland and repeatedly asked, "Do you agree that traditional Catholics are violent extremists?"

Garland responded, raising his voice, "The idea that someone with my family background would discriminate against any religion is so outrageous, so absurd!"

Garland then responded that he does not believe Catholics are extremists.
Hunter Biden, as expected, was the big focus

House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, speaks as Attorney General Merrick Garland appears before a House Judiciary Committee hearing Wednesday on Capitol Hill.
J. Scott Applewhite/AP

The younger Biden has been the subject of an investigation led by special counsel Weiss since 2019.

His special counsel designation came after a plea deal between Biden and federal prosecutors fell apart. As part of the plea deal, Biden would have avoided prosecution on a felony firearm offense.
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But earlier this month, Biden was indicted on felony gun charges.

As the investigation was ongoing, two IRS agents came forward and accused the DOJ publicly of giving Biden preferential treatment and slow-walking the investigation.

This added fuel to Republicans' assertion that the DOJ is protecting the Biden family from criminal prosecution.
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At the hearing, Garland repeatedly denied interfering in the ongoing Biden probe and was never instructed to charge Trump with several federal crimes.

Garland avoided speaking at length about Weiss and the still-open investigation. He said said, several times, that he would rather have Weiss, a Trump appointee, speak on the investigation.

As part of the committee's inquiry into this investigation, the panel plans to bring Weiss in for questioning later this fall.

As Jordan said in an interview with the Washington Examiner this week, a focus for the committee was also on special counsel Smith, who has led the federal investigation into Trump.

Jordan and other Republican lawmakers have sided with Trump in his claims that he did nothing wrong and that Smith and the DOJ are interfering in the 2024 election by prosecuting the former president.
Garland doesn't totally escape criticism by Dems

Democrats largely offered Garland an opportunity to defend the agency and to speak of the work the DOJ has done outside of Biden and Trump indictments.

Committee Ranking Member Rep. Jerry Nadler said instead of focusing on the issues facing the nation, "House Republicans will use their time today to talk about long-discredited conspiracy theories and Hunter Biden's laptop. And they will do it because they care more about Donald Trump than they do about their own constituents."
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FBI Director Wray grilled as House GOP members allege 'politicization' of the agency

Garland didn't completely escape criticism from Democrats, however.

Rep. Cori Bush, a Democrat that represents St. Louis, critiqued the DOJ on its position on incarceration, the death penalty, Bureau of Prisons oversight and other criminal justice issues, saying their approach contributes to mass incarceration.

She said that prosecutors, who ultimately report back to Garland, are continuing to "disproportionately prosecute disproportionately Black and brown people" in her district and elsewhere for low-level narcotics, immigration and firearm offenses.

"Under your watch the federal incarceration rate has increased for the first time in nearly a decade," she said. "Meanwhile corporate crime enforcement is lower than it was during the Trump administration. The department needs to rethink its entire approach to prosecution."
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She quickly added that she does support the agency's work in prosecuting Jan. 6 insurrectionists.

[Slip Shod]

Under investigation since 2019 by Weiss + Smith .
Give me a break. Their job was to bury anything they might find.
Investigators knew in December of 2019 that Hunter Biden's computer was "reliable information"
- justice department is still stonewalling on releasing President Biden's alter identity emails
IF IT WERE TRUMP nightly News would be pushing it as their lead story every day
What were in those emails between Joe and Sonny Boy
what the F*can't you see the double standard

[Z is for Zangie]

Under investigation since 2019 by Weiss + Smith .
Give me a break. Their job was to bury anything they might find.
Investigators knew in December of 2019 that Hunter Biden's computer was "reliable information"
- justice department is still stonewalling on releasing President Biden's alter identity emails
IF IT WERE TRUMP nightly News would be pushing it as their lead story every day
What were in those emails between Joe and Sonny Boy
what the F*can't you see the double standard

Weiss was appointed by Trump and Biden kept him and so did Garland. Garland hasn't talked to him for the very reason you are saying, and Joe wanted it that way.There are parts of Biden's computer ( and again, Hunter did some sleazy things, but, it isn't illegal to use your father's name, a lot of well-to-do and powerful people do this, ( even ones who aren't) and it has nothing to do with Joe. They all use alter identity emails to avoid getting hijacked/scammed and for national security, this is not abnormal.

The emails between them were personal, and they aren't hiding anything, There is no proof Joe had anything to do with what Hunter was doing. And Hunter has never worked for the government, which is the only people Congress can look into. And BTW NYT and WA PO both covered the laptop, you must have missed that, l( oh, wait, you don't ever read anything but far-right propaganda lying grifters...also, BTW, how do you feel about Jared and the 4 Billion he got from Saudia Arabia? And he was part of the government.

There is NO double standard, quit listening to those lying frauds...Trump is a criminal and always has been, since way back in the 80s I knew this...he committed all these crimes and he also tried to overthrow the damn government, how can you admire him? And they have the proof or they wouldn't have charged him. He is creepy, guilty of sexual assault of numerous women, only cares about himself, is a liar and a disgusting person...and he is mean as a snake. He insults women and minorities and anyone who won't kiss his ass. He is a horrible person, the most horrible person I have ever known about. So his being a criminal is no surprise to me. He has no business being president again and any decent person knows this.

You deal with conspiracy theories and made-up crap told you for money and political reasons... Unless you can debate with actual facts ( and look other places other than the illegitimate ones you use) you need to stop spreading the lies yourself, you are part of the problem.

[Slip Shod]

Democrat modus operandi. MO

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles ... nager-says
--
Trump Russian collusion hitting the nightly News night after night after night after night, ALL BS.
Clinton Foundation paying for the Steele dossier
Yeah there was some evil going on.. coming out the Democratic / media collusion spreading their brand of evil
That story about Trump and a whore & him pissing on her on a bed in a hotel room
That's right, Clinton foundation money paying for that and the news media riding it
Democrat modus operandi
You know Z, if you're going to start flinging evil around there's plenty to be flung

[Z is for Zangie]

Democrat modus operandi. MO

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles ... nager-says
--
Trump Russian collusion hitting the nightly News night after night after night after night, ALL BS.
Clinton Foundation paying for the Steele dossier
Yeah there was some evil going on.. coming out the Democratic / media collusion spreading their brand of evil
That story about Trump and a whore & him pissing on her on a bed in a hotel room
That's right, Clinton foundation money paying for that and the news media riding it
Democrat modus operandi
You know Z, if you're going to start flinging evil around there's plenty to be flung

We aren't evil, not as a group, I am sure we have a few bad apples, that is true of any group...and I am not even going to bother telling you where you are wrong with this post. I don't call you evil, though many on your side are and they are the much bigger threat than we are, you may not like liberal policies, but, we aren't doing what the right is doing now.
I am done ...I refuse to engage with this crap anymore.

[Z is for Zangie]

Democrat modus operandi. MO

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles ... nager-says
--
Trump Russian collusion hitting the nightly News night after night after night after night, ALL BS.
Clinton Foundation paying for the Steele dossier
Yeah there was some evil going on.. coming out the Democratic / media collusion spreading their brand of evil
That story about Trump and a whore & him pissing on her on a bed in a hotel room
That's right, Clinton foundation money paying for that and the news media riding it
Democrat modus operandi
You know Z, if you're going to start flinging evil around there's plenty to be flung

We aren't evil, not as a group, I am sure we have a few bad apples, that is true of any group...and I am not even going to bother telling you where you are wrong with this post. I don't call you evil, though many on your side are and they are the much bigger threat than we are, you may not like liberal policies, but, we aren't doing what the right is doing now.
I am done ...I refuse to engage with this crap anymore.

PS: OK. one thing, there was no collusion , Mueller wasn't investigating collusion, it isn't a legal issue, he was investigating obstruction and there was plenty of that..also, the Russians did interfere in our politics and was it Roger Stone of Manafort ( both of whom Trump pardoned) who was colluding with the Russians they were charged with it, being an unregistered agent of another country,

[Slip Shod]

Speaking of unregistered agents, I believe here we have Hunter Biden as a unregistered agent of Ukraine and China.
I guess that makes me evil for saying that. I'm not really evil Z - I'm a biscuits and gravy teddy bear

[Z is for Zangie]

Speaking of unregistered agents, I believe here we have Hunter Biden as a unregistered agent of Ukraine and China.
I guess that makes me evil for saying that. I'm not really evil Z - I'm a biscuits and gravy teddy bear

He wasn't an agent, he doesn't work for the government, nor did he have the power to interfere in it. He wasn't paid to spy, that is silly, he was paid because they hoped he did have power he didn't have.

And btw, this is rampant all over the place, plenty of R"s have let their children use their names and more of them there is proo that is what they actually did.

Once again, what you think isn't true, that is my complaint.