In a Tuesday night letter to House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan (R-OH), the Department of Justice denied permission for two subpoenaed FBI special agents to testify before Congress in the GOP investigation of potential Biden family corruption. The letter, obtained by the Washington Examiner, can be viewed below.
Jordan issued subpoenas on Aug. 21 to FBI special agents Thomas Sobocinski and Ryeshia Holley of the FBI’s Baltimore Field Office, who had “oversight responsibility for activity in the Wilmington Resident Office.” According to the testimony of IRS Supervisory Agent and whistleblower Gary Shapley, the two were present at an Oct. 7, 2022 meeting during which then-Delaware U.S. Attorney David Weiss allegedly said he lacked the authority to bring cases in other jurisdictions.
If true, Weiss’ remarks directly contradict sworn testimony from Attorney General Merrick Garland who told Congress in March that Weiss had “full authority … to bring cases in other jurisdictions if he feels it’s necessary.”
DOJ Assistant Attorney General Carlos Uriarte explained that Jordan’s subpoenas “lack legal effect and cannot constitutionally be enforced” due to House rules that prohibit DOJ lawyers from being present at depositions.
He wrote:
The subpoenas issued by the Committee prohibit the attendance of agency counsel at appearances by two FBI employees where the Committee has indicated it will ask questions regarding information they learned within the scope of their official duties, including regarding the ongoing criminal investigation.
…
The public’s strong interest in the integrity of law enforcement work is one critical reason that counsel for the Department must be present when an agency witness appears before Congress. Excluding agency counsel in these circumstances “undermine[s] the Executive Branch’s ability to protect its confidentiality interests in the course of the constitutionally mandated accommodation process.In addition, the exclusion of agency counsel interferes with the Executive Branch’s ability to protect potentially privileged information, including law enforcement sensitive information.
Citing the special counsel investigation into Hunter Biden and repeatedly affirming the DOJ’s openness to “good faith” negotiations in response to the Committee’s “interest in this matter,” Uriarte wrote:
We welcome the opportunity for continued discussions beyond our prior correspondence and staff-level discussions to identify any topics on which information can be shared, potentially through voluntary testimony from appropriate individuals, documents, or written responses to questions from the Committee.
Uriarte noted that, in his opinion, “seeking to compel testimony from FBI agents directly involved in the ongoing investigation is premature.” He pointed out that upon completion of his investigation, Special Counsel Weiss will submit a report to the attorney general which should explain his decision making process.
The “most appropriate” time for the Committee to depose DOJ officials, according to Uriarte, is once the special counsel investigation is complete.
As we and Mr. Weiss himself have noted, the most appropriate time for any testimony on the subject of any individual ongoing criminal investigation is after the matter is closed.
Naturally.
This letter shows precisely why Garland elevated Weiss to a special counsel. Following the spectacular collapse of Hunter Biden’s sweetheart plea deal last month, he needed to put an additional layer of protection between Hunter’s wheeling and dealing and President Joe Biden.
Unless and until the House opens an impeachment inquiry, which would greatly enhance their powers to investigate, the obstruction on display in Uriarte’s letter will remain the norm.
But evidence of the president’s involvement in the family influence peddling business is piling up like snow. There’s way too much information out there for the DOJ to keep a lid on it now. And that evidence is slowly being corroborated by eyewitnesses and bank records. And the gatekeepers, including Garland, Rep. Dan Goldman (D-NY), White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre, and the entire legacy media are beginning to look like dopes.
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