Joe Biden’s relationship with his attorney general, Merrick Garland, is so icy that it’s “on hold,” according to a report Saturday.
Biden and his aides are angry about Garland’s decision to appoint special counsel to investigate both Biden’s handling of classified documents and his son Hunter’s business affairs. They told the Wall Street Journal that Garland had gone too far in his effort to appear independent of Biden, who appointed him.
But Garland’s aides told the newspaper that the widely respected, low-key official was simply trying to dispel any suspicion that Biden was influencing his decisions.
When hiring Garland, 70, Biden, 80, repeatedly emphasized that he was choosing someone with integrity and independence.
Joe Biden is seen listening to his Attorney General Merrick Garland’s speech in June 2021. The relationship between the two men is now said to be “on ice”.
Biden aides believe Garland mishandled the investigation into the president’s son, Hunter
Biden was determined to distance himself from Donald Trump, who repeatedly supported his two attorneys general, Jeff Sessions and Bill Barr, and vowed he would not interfere in Garland’s work.
“Over the last four years, we have had a president who has made clear in everything he has done his disregard for our democracy, our Constitution and the rule of law,” Biden said in January 2021, appointing his Cabinet to the president-elect.
“More than anything, we must restore the honor, integrity and independence of the Justice Department that have been so badly damaged.”
As he led Garland onto the stage, he told him, “You’re not working for me.”
But now independence is proving problematic, sources told the newspaper.
Biden aides noted that prosecutors had already completed their investigation into former Vice President Mike Pence’s handling of classified documents after papers were found in his Indiana home.
Pence’s papers were found the same month that documents were found in Biden’s home in Delaware: Both Biden and Pence turned the documents over to authorities and reported the discovery themselves – unlike Trump.
But Biden’s case has now been referred to a special prosecutor, the advisers emphasized.
Biden and Garland are seen at the White House in May 2022. The two men are said to be extremely distant from each other
Biden, seen leaving church in Delaware on Saturday, was angered by both the investigation into his handling of classified documents and the investigation into his son
And a lawyer for Hunter Biden — who was indicted federally on Thursday for lying about his drug use in a gun permit — accused Garland of being biased against the Bidens.
The lawyer said the decision to appoint a special prosecutor and charge Hunter after he agreed to a plea deal showed “partisan interference in this process.”
Some Biden aides felt Garland should have done more to respond to IRS whistleblower Gary Shapley, who publicly alleged that the Justice Department interfered in an investigation into Hunter Biden’s business and tax affairs.
Biden aides believed Shapley’s actions toward Republican members of Congress by telling them he had concerns was an improper release of information.
Garland worked as a senior official in the Justice Department under Bill Clinton’s Attorney General Janet Reno, who angered Clinton by launching an investigation that eventually led to the revelation of his affair with Monica Lewinsky.
“Merrick comes from the exact same school,” said a former department official who worked with both Reno and Garland.
“Both believe strongly in the independent and apolitical nature of the department, which is good for the department, but not always so good for the attorney general’s relationship with the president.”
Bill Clinton was famously angered by the actions of his Attorney General Janet Reno. The couple is seen together in July 1993
Barack Obama is seen with his Attorney General Eric Holder in May 2013
Trump was publicly critical of Jeff Sessions, his attorney general, who was pictured in the White House in February 2017
Trump was also brutal in his ruling against his second attorney general, Bill Barr
Barack Obama, on the other hand, was criticized for being too close to his Attorney General Eric Holder.
However, Trump was known to be combative with his own, publicly criticizing them and commenting on their decisions.
“Attorneys general should agree with the administration’s goals but not be too close to the president personally,” said Bill Barr, Trump’s last attorney general.
And Barr told the Wall Street Journal it was a thankless job.
“There is no escape,” he said.
“In high-profile cases, the attorney general has to be responsible for those decisions.” He can’t say, “Well, I just left it up to someone else.”
Garland’s spokesman declined to comment.
White House spokeswoman Olivia Dalton said Biden appointed Garland “based on his decades-long commitment to the rule of law, consistent with his commitment in his presidential bid to restore the Justice Department’s independence free from political interference.”