Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), who has become the chairperson of the House Judiciary Committee in this new Congress, is facing another setback in his seemingly endless quests to be the loudest Republican in the room — metaphorically or literally.
The head of the Office of Legislative Affairs at the Justice Department, who as the role suggests helps handle communications with legislators, has written to Jordan, explicitly rejecting the prospect of providing him with certain troves of private information about federal looks at classified documents discovered at a series of locations associated with President Joe Biden. These documents evidently originate before his presidency. Unlike Trump, Biden’s team has been cooperative.
“Your letter also requests non-public information that is central to the ongoing Special Counsel investigation,” Assistant Attorney General Carlos Uriarte told Jordan, referring to the special counsel who Attorney General Merrick Garland picked to lead a probe into the Biden docs. “The Department’s longstanding policy is to maintain the confidentiality of such information regarding open matters. This policy protects the American people’s interest in the evenhanded, dispassionate, and effective administration of justice. Disclosing non-public information about ongoing investigations could violate statutory requirements or court orders, reveal road maps of our investigations, and interfere with the Department’s ability to gather facts, interview witnesses, and bring criminal prosecutions where warranted. Maintaining confidentiality also safeguards the legal rights, personal safety, and privacy interests of individuals implicated by, or who assist in, our investigations.”
Allowing for a substantial exchange of info, including that of the private variety that is critical to the progression of the probe, between the Justice Department and Congress could allow for at least the impression of political influence on the department’s decisions, which is obviously something the department has sought to avoid. Jordan previously demanded what Fox News summarized were all of the communications between officials at the Department of Justice and FBI regarding the classified docs.
Predictably, Russell Dye, a spokesperson for Jordan, indicated complaints about the department’s handling of Trump harboring classified docs underpinned some of the Judiciary Republicans’ push. “Our Members are rightly concerned about the Justice Department’s double standard here,” the spokesperson claimed, also referencing apparently debunked notions of support for a Biden think tank from Chinese entities.
There is apparently also interest among House Republicans in the contents of the classified documents recovered from both Biden and Trump. (Classified materials have also been found with Mike Pence.) Rep. Mike Turner (R-Ohio), who leads the House Intelligence Committee, suggested a conspiracy without what’s apparently any evidence. “We were told that we were going to have these documents available to us to review,” he claimed on ABC. “I think it only makes everybody concerned about what are they hiding and why are they trying to keep it from Congress?”
DOJ responds to Chairman Jordan’s request for info on the Biden special counsel probe:
“Disclosures to Congress about active investigations risk jeopardizing those investigations and creating the appearance that Congress may be exerting improper political pressure…” 1/2 pic.twitter.com/w5DAtTUuKG
— Ben Siegel (@bensiegel) January 30, 2023
“Our Members are rightly concerned about the Justice Department’s double standard here, after all, some of the Biden documents were found at a think tank that’s received funds from communist China,” Jordan spokesperson Russell Dye responds. 1/2 https://t.co/do4Cfop7VC
— Max Cohen (@maxpcohen) January 30, 2023
Context, with regards to the Penn Biden Center: University of Pennsylvania officials have said that the Center "has never solicited or received any gifts from any Chinese or other foreign entity. "
— Max Cohen (@maxpcohen) January 30, 2023
