Garland Doesn't 'Recollect' FBI HQ Contact on Hunter Biden Probe as Mike Johnson Presses Him (September 20, 2023)

Five weeks before he became speaker of the House, Rep. Mike Johnson, R-La., asked Attorney General Merrick Garland a simple question about the Hunter Biden case: “Have you had personal contact with anyone at FBI headquarters about the Hunter Biden investigation?”

“I don’t recollect the answer to that question, but the FBI works for the Justice Department,” Garland answered. The video above shows the exchange from the House Judiciary Committee’s Sept. 20, 2023, oversight hearing. Quotes are from the official hearing record published by GovInfo [1].

”I Don’t Recollect”

Johnson couldn’t believe what he was hearing. “I am sorry, I am sorry. You don’t recollect—you don’t recollect whether you have talked with anybody at FBI headquarters about an investigation into the President’s son?” he asked [1].

“I don’t believe that I did,” Garland said. “I promised the Senate when I came before it for confirmation that I would leave Mr. Weiss in place and then I would not interfere with his investigation.” As Johnson tried to move on, Garland added: “I have kept that promise” [1].

”The Fix Is In”

The hearing was set up as a reckoning. The committee said it would “examine how the Justice Department has become politicized and weaponized under the leadership of Attorney General Merrick Garland” [2].

Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, set the tone in his opening: “The fix is in. Even with the face-saving indictment last week of Hunter Biden, everyone knows the fix is in,” NPR reported [3]. The hearing ran nearly six hours and focused largely on the department’s investigation of the president’s son [3].

Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., pressed Garland on whether he was “confident” Hunter Biden had stopped selling the “appearance of access” to his father, and noted that Hunter Biden’s art career took off after his father became president [1]. Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., told Garland: “Meanwhile you are sending grandmas to prison.” [1]

Garland: “Not the President’s Lawyer”

Garland stood his ground. “As the President himself has said, and I reaffirm here today: I am not the President’s lawyer. I will also add that I am not Congress’s prosecutor,” he said [3].

He leaned on the fact that the prosecutor in charge was a Trump pick. “One more fact that is important, and that is that this investigation is being conducted by Mr. Weiss, an appointee of President Trump,” Garland said, telling lawmakers they would have the chance to ask David Weiss directly [4]. ABC News reported that Garland “vehemently denied he has taken any directives from President Biden or the White House with respect to any criminal investigation” [4].

White House spokesman Ian Sams called the hearing a “distraction” and said House Republicans had “cranked up a circus of a hearing full of lies and disinformation with the sole goal of baselessly attacking President Biden and his family” [4].

The Whistleblowers Behind the Questions

Republicans’ suspicion traced to IRS whistleblowers. Jordan cited their testimony that the president’s son got preferential treatment from investigators, and that Garland’s past testimony that Weiss had ultimate authority over charging decisions was inaccurate, ABC News reported. Both Garland and Weiss disputed the whistleblowers’ claims in letters to Congress [4].

By the time of the hearing, the case had changed shape. On Aug. 11, 2023, Garland named Weiss a special counsel, saying it was “in the public interest” [5]. And nearly a week before Garland testified, Weiss indicted Hunter Biden on felony gun charges after a plea deal fell apart in court in July [4].

”’Refuse to Partner’ Is Turning Down”

Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, pressed Garland on his testimony that Weiss had full authority, even though another U.S. attorney had declined to bring the case. “So, he didn’t have full authority, did he?” Jordan asked [1].

“I’m going to say again that no one had the authority to turn him down. They could refuse to partner with him,” Garland said. “You can use whatever language. ‘Refuse to partner’ is turning down.” Jordan shot back. “Well, it’s not the same under a well-known Justice Department practice,” Garland answered [1].

Jordan also asked about leaks. “Mr. Garland, have you or are you investigating who leaked the information that appeared in the Washington Post on October 6, 2022, about this investigation, about the Hunter Biden investigation?” [1]

“I don’t know the answer to that question,” Garland said. “I don’t want my answer to suggest that there is or isn’t such an investigation.” [1]

By the Numbers

Nearly 6 hours: how long the hearing lasted, according to NPR [3].
5 weeks: the gap between Johnson’s questioning and his election as speaker on Oct. 25, 2023 [6].
216-207: the June 2024 House vote holding Garland in contempt of Congress [7].
3 and 9: the felony gun counts Hunter Biden was convicted on and the federal tax charges he pleaded guilty to in 2024 [8][9].

What Happened Next

Johnson took the gavel. After Republicans removed Speaker Kevin McCarthy on Oct. 3, 2023, the House elected Johnson speaker on Oct. 25, 2023 [6].

Garland was held in contempt. On June 12, 2024, the House voted 216-207 to hold Garland in contempt for refusing to turn over audio of President Biden’s interview with special counsel Robert Hur. Rep. David Joyce of Ohio was the only Republican to vote no [7].

Hunter Biden was convicted, then pardoned. A federal jury convicted Hunter Biden of all three felony gun charges in June 2024 [8], and he pleaded guilty to nine federal tax charges that September [9]. On Dec. 1, 2024, his father signed “a full and unconditional pardon” [10]. “I kept my word even as I have watched my son being selectively and unfairly prosecuted,” President Biden said [10].

For the earlier fight over Garland and the IRS whistleblowers, see HYGO News’ report on the White House’s response to McCarthy’s impeachment talk, and for Biden’s own take on the House investigations, his “Lots of luck in your senior year” moment.