A federal judge on April 5 told U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) attorneys that the defiance of congressional subpoenas was hypocritical.
She added: I think it’s quite rich you guys pursue criminal investigations and put people in jail for not showing up. ... You all are making a bunch of arguments that you would never accept from any other litigant.”
The U.S. House of Representatives Judiciary Committee requested DOJ tax attorneys Mark Daly and Jack Morgan answer questions about the handling of the investigation into President Joe Biden’s son Hunter Biden. The DOJ declined the request, prompting subpoenas in 2023 and 2024.
Judge Reyes, appointed by President Biden, did not seem impressed with those arguments and also criticized the reliance on the 2019 DOJ opinion.
“Last time I checked, the Office of Legal Counsel was not the court,” she said, according to Politico.
The judge later expressed surprise when Mr. Gilligan would not promise to tell the attorneys to comply with the subpoenas if lawmakers reversed their stance on government lawyers taking part in the depositions.
“Are you kidding me?” she said.
Lawmakers have said they want to hear from the attorneys because of the unusual aspects of the investigation and prosecution of Mr. Biden, including how Mr. Daly and Mr. Morgan initially said the DOJ should charge him for tax crimes over actions taken in 2014 and 2015, but later said he should not be hit with charges over those years. The attorneys “have firsthand knowledge of the irregularities in DOJ’s investigation that appear to have benefited Hunter Biden,” the committee’s lawyers said in a filing.
Judge Reyes also said she was confused as to why lawmakers are working so hard to compel testimony from Mr. Daly and Mr. Morgan, given that, if they testify, they could claim privilege in response to most or all questions.
She ordered lawyers for the parties to meet next week and try to hammer out a compromise. If the parties do not reach a compromise, Mr. Daly and Mr. Morgan may be placed under oath to answer questions about the negotiations between the parties, the judge said.