The Justice Department on Monday declined Rep. Jim Jordan’s request for more details on how it is handling President Joe Biden’s classified files, saying it would not provide him with “non-public information” pending an investigation by a special counsel.
“The Department’s longstanding policy is to maintain the confidentiality of such information regarding open matters,” the assistant attorney general wrote to Jordan, the Republican chairman of the House Judiciary Committee.
Jordan had written to Attorney General Merrick Garland requesting all documents and communications (both internal and external) between the Justice Department, the FBI and the President’s Executive Office regarding the classified material discovered in Biden’s personal possessions.
But the agency walled off his request, citing Special Counsel Robert Hur’s investigation and arguing it didn’t want to give the appearance of Congress by having undue influence.
“Disclosures to Congress about active investigations could jeopardize those investigations and create the appearance that Congress is exerting undue political pressure in certain cases or is attempting to influence Department decisions,” wrote Carlos Felipe Uriarte, the assistant attorney general.
The Justice Department on Monday denied Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio (above) and his request for more details on how President Joe Biden’s classified files are handled
Hur starts at the Justice Department this week and must complete his work at a private firm before beginning his investigation.
Jordan’s rep fired back, accusing the agency of double standards.
“Our lawmakers are rightly concerned about the Justice Department’s double standards, after all, some of the Biden documents were found in a think tank that received funds from communist China. It is worrying, to say the least, that the Department is more interested in making policy than working together,” Jordan spokesman Russell Dye said in a statement.
It’s unclear if Jordan will subpoena the documents he’s looking for, including documents related to Hur’s appointment as special counsel and the selection of Trump-appointed US Attorney John Lausch to lead the initial review of the case.
Last week, Jordan told CNN he would consider such a move if the DoJ denies his application.
“We’ll see, but we’re definitely considering subpoenaing documents,” he said. “But we don’t know yet if that will happen.”
A special counsel investigates President Joe Biden’s possession of classified material (above).
Attorney General Merrick Garland appointed special counsel to investigate both Joe Biden and Donald Trump
Jordan has targeted President Biden and his family after Republicans control the House of Representatives and he has subpoena powers as chairman of a powerful committee.
In addition to his seat at the top of the judiciary panel, Jordan chairs a special committee investigating the federal government’s “armament.” The Justice Department and other agencies are the targets of this body, as many Republicans argue that federal agencies were wrong to prosecute former President Donald Trump.
Jordan was one of Trump’s biggest defenders on Capitol Hill and will now lead the charge against the federal government.
Former President Donald Trump has denounced US Attorney Merrick Garland for authorizing the FBI search of Mar-a-Lago after repeatedly refusing to release classified documents
Police direct traffic outside an entrance to former President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate, Monday, August 8, 2022, in Palm Beach, Florida. Trump said in a lengthy statement that the FBI was conducting a search of his Mar-a-Lago estate and claimed agents broke into a safe.
A photo of documents seized during the FBI’s August 8 search of former President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago home. The investigation into the presence of top secret information in Mar-a-Lago continues.
And the Justice Department’s response on the matter could be a clue to how the agency will handle future requests from Republicans and how a special counsel can complicate the GOP’s own investigation.
Jordan got into a heated debate about the investigation of the documents with host Chuck Todd on NBC’s Meet the Press on Sunday.
“The FBI raided a former president’s home 91 days before an election, stole an incumbent congressman’s phone, and so on,” Jordan said of Trump.
But Todd pushed back, noting that the National Archives had requested the return of the Trump documents, which is required under the Presidential Records Act.
“There were nine months between the first action,” Todd said. “The Archives requested documents before they even turned them over to the Justice Department. The subpoena was issued 60 days prior to the actual execution of a subpoena.’
“They raided Trump’s house. They didn’t raid Biden’s house,” Jordan argued.
“Because Biden did not resist a subpoena, Congressman,” Todd replied.
The Justice Department earlier this month spent 13 hours searching Biden’s home in Wilmington, Delaware, where it found another cache of classified documents.
In total, five classified materials belonging to Biden were discovered: at the Penn-Biden Center, a think tank in Washington, DC; in Biden’s garage at his home in Wilmington, Delaware; a document discovered in his “personal library” in the same house; four other documents found at his home; and then another six were found when the Justice Department searched his Wilmington home again.
Biden turned over his documents when his attorneys found them and voluntarily gave the FBI access to his home in Wilmington, Delaware, to search for more.
Ultimately, Attorney General Merrick Garland appointed a special counsel to investigate both Trump and Biden.
Jordan isn’t the only Republican investigating the matter — Rep. James Comer, the chair of the House Oversight Committee, has asked for visitor logs to Biden’s homes and his think-tank office.
The White House says such records do not exist.
The administration also emphasizes that Biden has complied with all legal procedures.