House Judiciary Committee Chair Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) has fired back at the Department of Justice (DOJ) after it challenged his subpoenas of FBI Director Chris Wray and Attorney General Merrick Garland—the latest in an ongoing conflict between House Republicans and the Biden administration over allegations of politicization of federal law enforcement.
“DOJ’s response is wholly inadequate, flawed, and ignores the last two years of requests from our Committee. We expect full compliance with the subpoenas,” Russell Dye, Jordan’s spokesperson, told The Epoch Times in a Feb. 9 email.
The committee subpoenaed Wray and Garland on Feb. 3 of this year.
The subpoenas reportedly compel document production by March 1 at 9 a.m.
The Epoch Times has requested the subpoenas from Jordan.
“The FBI has been on notice about our oversight requests—and aware that the requests are outstanding—for months. This stonewalling must stop,” Jordan wrote in his Jan. 17 letter to Wray.
Requests to the FBI described in a series of letters to Wray date back almost a year, to March 2022.
They include a May 24, 2022 request seeking “an explanation of the facts and circumstances of the approximately 1.9 million U.S person queries,” apparently made by the FBI in connection with an investigation of Russian hacking aimed at the United States.
Another request, dated June 9, 2022, concerns the FBI’s maintenance of a workspace at the Democrat-aligned law firm Perkins Coie along with the FBI’s relationship with former Perkins Coie partner Michael Sussman.
Another from Sept. 19 includes documents related to the bureau’s investigation of Jan. 6.
The letters to Garland, meanwhile, include requests dating back to June 2021.
One dated June 8, 2021, concerns “the Justice Department’s current efforts to identify and prosecute individuals involved in the assaults of Mr. Andy Ngo and other journalists in violation of federal statutes securing their civil rights.”
Another is focused on the diary allegedly belonging to Biden’s daughter as well as the FBI’s raid on the home of Project Veritas’ James O'Keefe.
The DOJ’s response to the subpoenas, written by Assistant U.S. Attorney General Carlos Uriarte, states that Jordan did not respond to a Jan. 20 offer it extended for a discussion on the requests.
“We have offered to engage with the Committee and provide information voluntarily, so a subpoena is premature,” Uriarte wrote.
“The overwhelming majority of congressional requests for information are resolved through voluntary discussion and cooperation,” the letter continues.
The DOJ’s letter also states that the Judiciary Committee has chosen not to work with the FBI to prioritize the requests in its communications.
“We share your belief that congressional oversight is vital to a well-functioning democracy, and an important part of effective congressional oversight is good-faith engagement in the accommodations process,” it adds.
