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US Republican lawmakers on Wednesday accused the justice department of political bias in a contentious hearing with attorney-general Merrick Garland that focused on the criminal case against Joe Biden’s son.
Jim Jordan, the House judiciary committee’s Republican chair, said that by naming David Weiss — the US attorney in Delaware — as special counsel to oversee cases involving Hunter Biden, Garland had “picked the one guy he knows will protect Joe Biden”.
Garland strongly disputed accusations of a biased Department of Justice, stating repeatedly that he had maintained his promise that Weiss has full authority over probes into Hunter Biden.
“Our job is not to take orders from the president, from Congress, or from anyone else, about who or what to criminally investigate,” Garland said. “As the president himself has said, and I reaffirm today: I am not the president’s lawyer. I will also add I am not Congress’s prosecutor. The justice department works for the American people.”
Republicans on the judiciary committee have been highly critical of the DoJ’s handling of the case against Hunter Biden. A previous plea deal meant to resolve the case collapsed earlier this year, and last week Hunter Biden was indicted on federal gun charges.
The committee’s Republican members criticised Weiss for being too lax, and Jordan called the original plea deal “ridiculous” and last week’s indictment “face-saving”. The US attorney’s office in Delaware did not immediately return a request for comment.
The tense exchanges highlight the febrile environment in the US as the country gears up for presidential elections next year. Donald Trump, who faces four separate criminal cases at federal and state level, is the favourite to become the Republican presidential nominee. The former president has pleaded not guilty in all cases and has called the charges politically motivated.
The White House said in a statement that House Republicans had “cranked up a circus of a hearing full of lies and disinformation with the sole goal of baselessly attacking President Biden and his family”.
The hearing comes just days after Kevin McCarthy, the Republican Speaker of the House, launched an impeachment inquiry into Joe Biden related to his son’s business dealings. McCarthy has alleged the president “lied to the American people” about his knowledge of Hunter Biden’s business deals. The White House has repeatedly denied any allegations of wrongdoing.
When discussing Weiss’s appointment as special counsel, Republican congressman Tom McClintock asked if the move was because of “corruption or incompetence”. Garland responded: “Those are the kinds of questions that judges would rule out of order.”
Jordan also addressed Trump’s indictments, saying the DoJ had “both sides of the equation covered”. Jack Smith, the special counsel appointed to oversee federal cases against Trump, has obtained two separate sets of criminal charges accusing the ex-president of mishandling classified documents and interfering in the 2020 presidential election.
Garland added that Smith — who has come under attack by Trump and other Republicans — had a “nationwide reputation of integrity”.
Democratic lawmakers accused Republicans of spreading conspiracy theories. Jerrold Nadler, the committee’s most senior Democrat, “implore[d] the public to see through the sham”. Eric Swalwell asked whether Republican lawmakers “want it both ways” after calling for impartiality in Hunter Biden’s investigation while asking Garland to comment on details of the probe.
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