While U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland has appointed special counsels to probe the handling of classified documents by President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump, he has not appointed one to handle investigations of Hunter Biden — and that has House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan (R-OH) curious.
So, to get some answers with his power as chairman of the powerful Judiciary Committee, Jordan sent a letter to AG Garland on Tuesday looking to get his hands on some documents to better understand the situation and conduct oversight of Biden's Department of Justice.
"The Department’s investigation of Hunter Biden, son of President Biden, raises the appearance of a conflict of interest that would necessitate special counsel protections and authorities," Chairman Jordan notes in his letter to Garland. "However, to date, you have declined to appoint a special counsel in this matter, despite appointing special counsels in other investigations."
As noted, there's a special counsel to investigate Joe Biden's sticky fingers when it came to classified documents from his time as vice president and a U.S. senator — so why not a special counsel to investigate his son?
— Rep. Jim Jordan (@Jim_Jordan) February 28, 2023
"Your refusal to appoint a special counsel here is conspicuous in this context," Jordan added. With the aim of furthering the Judiciary Committee's oversight, Jordan asked Garland for documents and communications involved in the matter.
Specifically:
1. All documents and communications sent or received by David Weiss or any employee of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Delaware referring or relating to special counsel status for the investigation concerning Hunter Biden; and
2. All documents and communications between or among employees of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Delaware and employees of any other U.S. Attorney’s Office with venue to bring charges against Hunter Biden or his associates in that jurisdiction.
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Chairman Jordan requested this information from Attorney General Garland "as soon as possible" but set a deadline of 5:00 p.m. on March 14, just two weeks away.
Clearly, House Republicans are not messing around after their return to majority party status in the lower chamber of Congress, and the number of areas the Judiciary Committee — as well as Oversight and other committees — intend to bring some sunlight to the Biden administration's machinations is refreshing after two years of uninterested Democrat "oversight."
We'll have to wait and see what Chairman Jordan's request turns up from the Department of Justice, but it does seem curious indeed that a special counsel would be necessary — in Garland's view — to investigate Biden, but not to investigate his adult son who is close with and has been financially supported by his father.
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