WASHINGTON – President Joe Biden said he has never spoken with Attorney General Merrick Garland about the cases the Justice Department is considering, a statement about the January 6 trials that came amid Republican criticism that he is trying to influence in the federal investigation. in the taxes of his son Hunter Biden.
“I promised not to interfere in any way with the Department of Justice, who they prosecuted, if they did, how they proceeded,” Biden said in an interview with MSNBC’s Nicolle Wallace. “I have not once, not once, spoken to the attorney general about any specific case. Not once.”
The response was a question about whether officers Harry Dunn and Michael Fanone deserve to know why it took the Justice Department a year to open an investigation into “the person who incited the insurrection” on January 6, suggesting that former President Donald Trump has not been charged while individual rioters have. Dunn and Fanone were police officers defending the Capitol.
Special Counsel Jack Smith is investigating the events of January 6 and the events surrounding the efforts to overturn the 2020 election.
But Biden’s comments also come in the face of Republican criticism that he put his thumb on the scale of the investigation into his son.
Hunter Biden has agreed to plead guilty to two tax-related misdemeanors related to his previous tax returns, a deal that sources say will avoid jail time. Republicans have insisted the deal is too lenient and that Hunter Biden avoided tougher charges because of who is his father.
The White House has defended Biden amid the impeachment. In a statement, White House attorney’s office spokesman Ian Sams said earlier this month that the White House had no role in making decisions on the Hunter Biden case.
“As we have also said many times before, the Department of Justice makes decisions in its criminal investigations independently, and in this case, the White House has not been involved,” Sams said in early June. “As the president has said, he loves his son and is proud that he accepts responsibility for his actions and is proud of what he is doing to rebuild his life.”
dareh gregorian, ryan nobles, Peter Nicholas, Katherine Doyle and Monica Alba contributed.
