Republicans of the House Judiciary Committee grilled Attorney General Merrick Garland last week about the Justice Department’s investigation of Hunter Biden, his overseas business dealings, and the involvement of his father in such matters.
The Committee claims that the DOJ practiced political bias and engaged in strategies of “delaying criminal investigations into Hunter Biden and blocking any investigations into the criminal corruption of Joe Biden.”
At the forefront of the accusations was Attorney David Weiss’s failure to prosecute the younger Biden within the statute of limitations on tax evasion and his suspicious employment with Burisma, the Ukrainian energy company that paid Hunter millions of dollars.
Jordan’s Opening Accusations
Jim Jordan (R – Oh.) accused Garland of doing the bidding of Joe Biden to protect his son Hunter, and ultimately, the president himself. The chair of the committee, Jordan blasted the Attorney General declaring, “The fix is in.”
“Even with the face-saving indictment last week of Hunter Biden, everyone knows the fix is in. Four and a half years. Four and a half years the Department of Justice has been investigating Mr. Biden and investigation David Weiss.”
Jordan then outlined all the missteps of the DOJ to circumvent a rigorous inquiry into Hunter Biden’s conduct, insinuating the disparate standards of justice used for one political party over another.
“There’s one investigation protecting President Biden. There’s another one attacking President Trump. The Justice Department’s got both sides of the equation covered.”
Hell Hath No Fury . . .
However, it was the women on the committee who ruthlessly laid into Garland with passionate words that lit the room on fire.
Harriet Hagemen (R – Wy.) challenged Garland about why there is an ongoing investigation into charges that have fallen outside the statute of limitations, leaving Garland grasping for the right response.
“I don’t know anything about the facts of this case,” Garland stated, as he did many times throughout the interrogation in an attempt to distance himself from the activities of his own department.
Hagemen pressed, “… by failing to pay the taxes on those ill-gotten gains, what would the typical penalty have been, for example, if it was someone who didn’t have the last name of Biden or a D behind their name?”
“I’m sorry, these are all questions you’ll have to direct to Mr. Weiss and Mr. Weiss will address in his final, umm …” Garland wiggled.
And then there was Victoria Spartz (R – In.), originally from what is now Ukraine, whose passionate testimony was filled with more grievances of the DOJ than actual inquiry. “When I came here as a young person, I believed in the value as an American not to be afraid of my government,” she declared.
“Are you aware a lot of Americans are now afraid of being prosecuted by your department? Are you aware of that?” Spartz asked as more of a hypothetical question than one that required an actual answer from Garland.
Offering examples of the DOJ’s conduct surrounding January 6 as well as the Durham report, Spartz asserted, “It’s like KGB.”
Much like Jordan, she accused the DOJ of executing a two-tiered system of justice. Spartz contrasted the “slow walk investigations” into Hillary Clinton and Hunter Biden against the swift action taken against Donald Trump.
Spartz included in her tirade that, “Americans don’t trust this President,” and outlined the very real threat that such distrust poses to American security with regard to China and Russia.
“How can President’s son be serving on, you know, corrupt Ukrainian oligarchs? Do you understand that it actually can undermine the war in Ukraine and effort and policy? That allows Russian to do propaganda and Chinese. It allows them to destabilize our country. That is danger to our Republic.”
Garland Gets Testy
Garland’s typically mild-mannered temperament was tested in the several-hour-long hearing. He vehemently, if not convincingly, defended himself throughout, claiming he is “not the President’s lawyer.”
He continued to explain that his department’s job “is to pursue justice without fear or favor.”
“Our job is not to do what is politically convenient. Our job is not to take orders from the President, from Congress or from anyone else about who or what to criminally investigate.”
That’s not how many Americans see it, yet it remains to be seen if such sentiments translate at the ballot box in 2024.
Jennifer Galardi is the politics and culture editor and opinion writer for 19FortyFive.com. She has a Master’s in Public Policy from Pepperdine University and produces and hosts the podcast Connection with conversations that address health, culture, politics, and policy. In a previous life, she wrote for publications in the health, fitness, and nutrition space. In addition, her pieces have been published in the Epoch Times and Pepperdine Policy Review. You can follow her on Instagram and Twitter.
