Attorney General Merrick Garland appeared to dispute testimony from FBI agents working on the Hunter Biden investigation who described a “cumbersome” bureaucratic process faced by Delaware U.S. Attorney David Weiss when he pursued charges against the first son prior to his special counsel appointment.
Republican Louisiana Rep. Mike Johnson questioned Garland on the FBI testimony during the attorney general’s appearance Wednesday before the House Judiciary Committee. (RELATED: Here Are All The Questions Congress Must Ask Merrick Garland About The Hunter Biden Case)
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“Are you aware that FBI officials have come before this committee and they have stated there was a cumbersome bureaucratic process that Mr. Weiss had to go through to bring charges in another judicial district?” Johnson asked.
“I’m not aware but that’s not true. There’s nothing cumbersome about the process,” Garland said.
“So those whistleblowers are lying to us under oath?” Johnson followed up.
“Their description of the process as cumbersome is opinion, it is not a fact question,” Garland responded.
FBI agent Thomas Sobocinski testified before the House Judiciary Committee in September that Weiss had an “administrative process” for bringing charges against Hunter Biden outside of his district before he was appointed special counsel in August.
“There was administrative charge — or administrative process, not within DOJ, but also within tax. I don’t know the intricacies of that, but it definitely seemed very cumbersome,” Sobocinski said, according to a copy of the transcript reviewed by the Daily Caller.
Another FBI agent testified to House Judiciary in September and told the committee Weiss was blocked from charging Hunter Biden by Biden-appointed U.S. Attorneys for the District of Columbia and the Central District of California, according to a transcript reviewed by the Daily Caller.
“I remember learning at some point in the investigation that Mr. Weiss would have to go through his other processes because the U.S. Attorney’s Offices had, I guess, in that sense, using that terminology, wasn’t going to partner,” the agent testified.
Garland appointed Weiss special counsel in August to continue the Hunter Biden investigation. The president’s son was indicted on Sept. 14 for three gun charges related to his purchase of a Colt Cobra revolver in October 2018 while he was addicted to drugs.