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Well...We're Waiting for House Republicans to Declare War

Matt Vespa
Matt Vespa  |  Aug 29, 2023
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Is anyone going to do something about Joe Biden, the Department of Justice, and inept Attorney General Merrick Garland? I feel like Judge Smails: “Well, we’re waiting.” We’re waiting for House Republicans to declare all-out war against the Justice Department's corrupt elements that have provided the same legal shield afforded to the Biden family’s business associates, especially in Ukraine.

There’s that saying that one can “walk and chew gum at the same time.” Often, that’s not the case up on the Hill, but it’s an election year; the most controversial bills will wait until the next Congress. A spending measure must pass next month to avoid a government shutdown, but we know the drill here: the bluster from Republicans will end at zero hour with a continuing resolution in hand. 

So, that leaves months for House conservatives to gnaw at the heels of Biden’s DOJ. Congressional Republicans have political cover now. It’s no longer a naked political exercise, and credible evidence and testimony leave the Biden family in an incriminating position regarding these business deals, some of which might have been outright bribes, as in the Burisma case. 

Half the country is skeptical that this special counsel investigation into Hunter Biden is anything more than a snow job. First, it’s headed by US Attorney David Weiss, who has first-hand knowledge of the case, a departure from department policy regarding these probes. It should have been a prosecutor outside the DOJ orbit. Second, while Weiss was blocked from trying to bring charges against Hunter Biden, he also allowed some of the more serious tax evasion violations to lapse under the statute of limitations. 

Yet, as Katie wrote yesterday, Merrick Garland bellyflopped into the crosshairs of legal scrutiny by swearing that Weiss had the authority to charge Hunter and do so in any jurisdiction in the country. He also said there was total independence regarding the criminal investigations into the president’s son, a narrative taken to the woodshed by the testimonies of IRS agents Gary Shapley and Joseph Ziegler, who said they were besieged by DOJ interference. In one instance, the FBI tipped off Hunter’s lawyers about an interview—that’s not normal. If Weiss has this authority that has been reported as one that was beyond that of a special counsel, where’s the letter? Protocol dictates that Garland sign a letter granting Weiss this power. Has a copy been sent to House Oversight? 

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Law professor Jonathan Turley, who initially backed Garland’s appointment as AG, now says the Weiss appointment only demonstrates how the former judge failed at leading this department. Hunter Biden has been afforded absurd protections from DOJ officials and agents at the FBI. The release of the FD-1023 report, which they resentfully disclosed, shows how the FBI knew for years that the Biden-Burisma relationship was fraught with ethical, potentially illegal, quandaries. The testimony from the IRS whistleblowers reinforced the narrative we already knew about DOJ interference.

These questions aren’t going away, and to head off a potential death knell for the Biden White House, they tasked Garland with making Weiss a special counsel, barring him from testifying before House Oversight. Also, this special counsel investigation is narrower than the Thermopylae pass, focusing only on Hunter and not the reported involvement from Joe Biden. It’s why Turley says that Garland’s Justice Department might have forced the House GOP’s hand on impeachment since that would be the only way to get any answers. Unlike the two Democratic-led impeachments against Trump, the House GOP is within its duty to begin such proceedings, and Merrick Garland and Joe Biden should be at the top of the hit list. 

This White House will never cooperate, nor will their minions in the Justice Department. We’re waiting, House GOP. The time for talks is over. Airstrikes must commence.