ANOTHER top Republican launches investigation into Biden’s classified documents: Rep. Jim Jordan writes to Merrick Garland demanding documents on the process of selecting a special counsel and any communications with the White House
- Judiciary Chief Rep. Jim Jordan wrote to Garland for documents and information
- He wants information about classified documents and the appointment of a special counsel
- AG Garland appointed Robert Hur as special counsel on Thursday
- Jordan wants answers as to when the DOJ learned of the documents
- He also wants to know under what “circumstances” Biden’s attorneys found her
House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan has already begun his investigation into classified documents uncovered at President Biden’s Wilmington home and at a DC office — and is demanding information on the process by which AG Merrick Garland appointed a special counsel appointed.
His first shot, fired in a letter to Garland Friday, seeks information not only about the documents but also about Garland’s appointment of a special counsel to investigate – after the White House said it was acting entirely “by book”.
“We are monitoring the Department of Justice’s actions regarding former Vice President Biden’s misuse of classified information, including the apparent unauthorized possession of classified information in a private office in Washington, DC and in the garage of his home in Wilmington, Delaware. ‘ Jordan and Rep. Mike Johnson (R-La.) wrote Garland Friday.
They pointed to Garland’s appointment of Special Counsel Robert Hur, a former US Attorney for Maryland who previously worked as an assistant to current FBI Director Chris Wray and helped oversee the Russia investigation.
House Judiciary Speaker Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) is asking for documents appointing a special counsel to investigate classified documents found at President Biden’s home and at a DC think tank office
Garland said he made the appointment after accepting US Attorney John Lausch’s recommendation that a special counsel was warranted.
“On January 12, 2023, you appointed Robert Hur as your special counsel to investigate these matters. The circumstances of this appointment raise fundamental oversight issues that the Committee routinely investigates. We await your full cooperation with our investigation,” they wrote.
The oversight is just the latest indication of how House Republicans will use their powerful new seats to glean potentially politically potent information from the probe, even as the White House tries to keep the matter in the DOJ.
House Oversight Committee Chairman Rep. James Comer (R-Ky.) has already launched his own investigation, gathering information from the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) and the White House Office about how the Vice President’s documents Biden turned up his home and office.
Garland said he made the appointment due to the “extraordinary circumstances.” “This appointment underscores to the public the department’s commitment to independence and accountability on particularly sensitive matters and to making decisions that are undeniably guided only by facts and the law,” Garland said Thursday
President Biden said he was surprised by the documents’ discovery. He declined questions about Friday
Robert Hur is a career attorney who was nominated by Donald Trump to be the United States Attorney for Maryland
Jordan wants answers as to when the DOJ learned of the documents. The White House Counsel said he notified the archives on November 3, 202222.
“It is unclear when the Department first learned of the existence of these documents and whether it actively withheld this information from the public on the eve of the 2022 election,” Jordan and Johnson wrote. “It is also unclear what interactions, if any, the Department had with President Biden or his representatives over his misuse of classified information.”
They are seeking any documents related to Hur’s appointment and Garland’s previous selection of Lausch, a holdover from the Trump administration, to conduct the preliminary investigation.
They also want documents between the President’s Executive Office and the President’s attorneys and the DOJ and the FBI — and the “circumstance” of how Biden’s attorneys discovered the classified information.
Garland said he made the appointment due to the “extraordinary circumstances.” “This appointment underscores to the public the department’s commitment to independence and accountability on particularly sensitive matters and to making decisions that are undeniably guided only by facts and the law,” Garland said Thursday.