White House Lawyer Rejects Requests from Congressional Republicans
Washington — A top White House lawyer rejected requests from congressional Republicans to interview members of President Joe Biden's staff, his family and a former senior White House aide. The requests were part of the Republicans' inquiry into Mr. Biden's handling of classified documents and their probe of the Biden family's business activities.
The White House response was sent Friday by White House attorney Richard Sauber to the chairmen of the House Oversight and Judiciary Committees, Reps. James Comer and Jim Jordan.
Earlier this week, Comer sent requests to four current White House staff members for transcribed interviews and a subpoena to depose former White House counsel Dana Remus as part of the documents investigation. Comer previously subpoenaed President Biden's son, Hunter and the president's brother, James, related to their finances. The House Oversight Committee has not shown that the president engaged in any wrongdoing.
The subpoenas and interview requests are tied to congressional Republicans' efforts to substantiate their impeachment inquiry into President Biden.
In a recent letter, the White House accused House Republicans of pursuing their subpoenas for the purpose of increasing their numbers, rather than out of any genuine investigative interest. The letter also accused the Republican committee chairs of harassing the President in order to gain political points.
"The Committees are particularly concerned about President Biden's mishandling of classified information given the Oversight Committee's discoveries that the Biden family received millions of dollars from foreign sources for unknown services," stated Comer's letter, which requested interviews related to the documents in question.
"You should reconsider your current course of action and withdraw these subpoenas and demands for interviews," Sauber told Comer and Jordan. "If you do in fact have legitimate requests for information within the White House pursuant to an appropriate oversight inquiry, please contact the undersigned so that the constitutionally approved processes can be implemented."
The congressional investigation into President Biden's handling of classified documents is running parallel to special counsel Robert Hur's own investigation into the matter. Hur, who was appointed by Attorney General Merrick Garland earlier this year, is looking into the potential mishandling of documents with classified markings that were found at Mr. Biden's think tank and home.
According to sources, investigators have conducted interviews with numerous individuals connected to the president. However, it is unlikely that any charges will be brought against Mr. Biden or those involved in the handling of the documents.
In a recent development, Mr. Biden himself was interviewed by the investigators. The investigation revolves around the discovery of over 300 classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago resort. Prosecutors claim that he resisted efforts to retrieve these records and obstructed the investigation. Mr. Biden has pleaded not guilty to all charges related to the documents.
