The House Judiciary Committee sued several Justice Department lawyers Thursday to compel their testimony in the GOP-led panel’s investigation. Hunter Biden.
The lawsuit alleges that two attorneys in the Justice Department’s tax division, Mark Daly and Jack Morgan. resisted subpoenas to testify in the committee’s investigation into whether the president’s son received “special treatment” from the Justice Department and whether President Joe Biden abused his presidential powers to “obstruct, obstruct or otherwise influence” investigations into his son.
The lawsuit asks the court to compel Daly and Morgan to comply with subpoenas and testify before the panel.
“The Judiciary Committee has attempted to provide reasonable accommodations for Daley and Morgan to testify, but these efforts are deadlocked, and Daley and Morgan continue to refuse to appear for testimony,” the lawsuit said.
There are two members of the House Judiciary Committee It subpoenaed two Justice Department lawyers to testify, first in September and then in February. It was intended for the most recent deposits March 1.
The attorneys allegedly had prior knowledge of “apparent irregularities in the DoJ investigation favoring Hunter Biden” and the actions of a U.S. attorney in connection with special counsel David Weiss’ filing of the charges.
The Judiciary Committee refused to comment further on the lawsuit.
Hunter Biden has pleaded not guilty to nine tax-related charges in California, including three felonies. was judged in January. He also faces federal weapons charges including an allegation of possession of a firearm while on drugs. He pleaded not guilty to these charges.
In a statement Thursday, a Justice Department spokeswoman said the Justice Department has made significant efforts to cooperate with the Judiciary Committee and “took the extraordinary step last year to have six watchdog employees available to testify on relevant issues.”
“Unfortunately, despite this extraordinary cooperation from senior DOJ officials, the Committee, after months of waiting, decided to continue to depose prosecutors about classified information from ongoing criminal investigations and prosecutions,” he said. “We will continue to protect our personnel and the integrity of their work. We will review the applications and respond in court.”
The statement reverberated Department of Justice letter Chairman of the panel, Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, from his congressional affairs chief, obtained by NBC News last month.
Assistant Attorney General Carlos Uriarte wrote in the letter that the Justice Department “took extraordinary steps” to help the committee’s investigation, including allowing testimony from Weiss, who led the Hunter Biden investigation.
The letter also stated that the attorneys sought for testimony were not responsible for “the Department’s responses to Congressional inquiries, including its responses to this matter.”
U.S. Attorney Matthew Graves, named in Thursday’s lawsuit, testified on Capitol Hill in October about the Biden investigation and told lawmakers that never stopped Weiss made the allegations against the president’s son, according to a transcript reviewed by NBC News.
House Republicans have targeted Hunter Biden as part of an impeachment inquiry against his father, who has yet to provide any evidence of wrongdoing. Alexander Smirnov, a former FBI informant whose allegations were instrumental in fueling the investigation last month, has suffered a major setback in their investigation. was accused and accused of providing false information to the FBI about Joe Biden and his son during the 2020 presidential campaign.