District Judge Ana Reyes criticized the Justice Department for allowing attorneys involved in the Biden family investigation to defy subpoenas while former Trump advisor Peter Navarro was sent to prison for doing the same thing. Navarro was charged and convicted with contempt of Congress after refusing to comply with a congressional subpoena related to the January 6, 2021, Capitol attack. Reyes questioned the DOJ’s hypocrisy in pursuing criminal investigations and jail time for failure to comply with subpoenas, while at the same time allowing current executive branch employees to take a similar approach in defying subpoenas.
The House Judiciary Committee’s investigation into the Biden family and the impeachment inquiry into President Biden was brought into question during a recent status conference. Two DOJ lawyers, Mark Daly and Jack Morgan, were subpoenaed for their firsthand knowledge of the irregularities in the DOJ’s investigation that appeared to benefit Hunter Biden. The committee argued that Daly and Morgan were part of a team that recommended charges against Hunter Biden for suspected tax crimes while he was on the board of Ukrainian company Burisma. The team initially agreed to bring charges, but then reversed course leading to the expiration of the statute of limitations.
In response to the DOJ’s decision to defy the subpoenas, Reyes highlighted the inconsistency in allowing current government employees to refuse to testify while former employees like Navarro were facing prison time for similar actions. Reyes expressed disbelief at the arguments made by the DOJ and criticized their stance on the matter. She also criticized a Trump-era Office of Legal Counsel opinion that suggested executive branch employees could defy subpoenas if Justice Department lawyers were not present. The committee argued that looking into the timeline of events related to the charges against Hunter Biden was essential to their investigation.
The Justice Department attorney, James Gilligan, argued that the decision to defy the subpoenas was made after lengthy deliberations at a high level. He also pointed out that Daly and Morgan were current government employees, while Navarro and Bannon were no longer part of the government when their testimony was demanded. However, Reyes was unimpressed with this reasoning and continued to question the Justice Department’s stance on the matter. She expressed astonishment that Gilligan would not commit to instructing Daly and Morgan to testify if the committee allowed government counsel to be present for their depositions.
Overall, Judge Ana Reyes criticized the Justice Department’s apparent hypocrisy in allowing current government employees to defy subpoenas while pursuing criminal investigations and prison time for former government officials who did the same. The House Judiciary Committee’s investigation into the Biden family faced scrutiny during a status conference, with two DOJ lawyers refusing to comply with subpoenas related to their knowledge of irregularities in the investigation that benefited Hunter Biden. Reyes raised concerns about the Justice Department’s position and the consistency of their actions in dealing with subpoenas for testimony.
