A federal judge on Friday reprimanded the Justice Department for refusing to comply with a subpoena from House Republicans for lawyers involved in the Hunter Biden investigation.
Last month, the House Judiciary Committee filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Washington seeking to force Justice Department attorneys Mark Daley and Jack Morgan to testify as part of the impeachment inquiry into President Biden.
The Republican-led committee co-leading the impeachment inquiry related to the 81-year-old president’s alleged involvement in family business dealings says the Justice Department has “obstructed” the committee’s efforts to obtain depositions from Justice Department Tax Division officials. claims to have done so.
District Judge Ana Reyes, a Biden appointee, said it was hypocritical for the Justice Department to instruct Daley and Morgan not to respond to committee subpoenas and jail others on similar charges. he claimed.
“There is a person who is currently in prison because you all filed a criminal case against him because he failed to appear on a House subpoena,” Reyes said during a Judiciary Committee hearing on the case. ”. According to Politico.
Reyes appears to be referring to former President Trump White House staffer Peter Navarro. Navarro was sentenced to four months in prison in January after being found guilty of two counts of contempt of Congress for failing to respond to subpoenas from the House Select Committee investigating the presidential election. January 6, 2021, Capitol riot.
“And now you guys are ignoring the subpoenas,” Reyes added, directing his anger at Justice Department attorney James Gilligan.
“I think it’s extravagant for you to come here and say this after you’ve filed a criminal case and put people in jail for failing to comply with a Congressional subpoena,” the judge continued. court news service.
“You all make a lot of arguments that would never be accepted by other litigants.”
Reyes suggested that the Justice Department’s position, which he characterized as “if you don’t consent to a subpoena…you can unilaterally choose not to appear,” will please defense attorneys across the country.
When the judge asked if the Justice Department intended to direct Daly and Morgan to testify if the House Judiciary Committee dropped the argument that government prosecutors would not appear in the deposition room, Gilligan answered in the affirmative. did not answer.
“I can’t answer that right now,” he said.
To this, Reyes replied, “Are you kidding me?”
But the judge suggested that while the tax department’s lawyers should appear before Parliament, they likely could not be forced to answer questions that would violate multiple privileges available to Mr. Daly and Mr. Morgan.
Mr. Daley and Mr. Morgan are involved in the Justice Department’s five-year investigation into Hunter Biden’s alleged criminal conduct, and have so far filed 12 charges against his eldest son, 53, related to tax and gun crimes. bringing about indictments.
The president’s impeachment inquiry is also looking into whether Joe Biden pressured the Justice Department to downplay an investigation into his son, something House investigators believe Morgan and Daley can shed light on.
Mr. Reyes ordered Mr. Gilligan and House General Counsel Matthew Berry, who is representing the Judiciary Committee in the lawsuit, to negotiate for four hours next week on how to resolve their differences outside of court.
“I don’t think taxpayers want to fund grudge wars between the administration and Congress,” she says. “Bad cases breed bad laws…This is a bad, bad case for both parties.”
