House Republicans have issued a subpoena to the Justice Department for materials related to special counsel Robert Hur’s investigation into President Biden’s handling of classified documents. The subpoena requests all documents and communications related to Hur’s interviews with Mr. Biden and the ghostwriter of the president’s memoir, as well as documents related to a 2015 call between Mr. Biden and the Ukrainian prime minister. Hur’s investigation found evidence of mishandling classified documents by Mr. Biden but did not recommend criminal charges.
This subpoena comes after a previous request from Republican chairmen of House committees for the materials to be handed over voluntarily, which the Justice Department responded to by saying it was working to gather and process the documents. However, no timeframe was given for when the materials would be produced. The subpoena seeks to understand if any limitations or scoping restrictions were placed on the interviews with Hur or the ghostwriter that would prevent any statements linking President Biden to foreign payments.
The deadline for turning over the materials is set for March 7, coinciding with the president’s State of the Union address and Hur’s scheduled testimony to the Judiciary Committee. The Justice Department has not commented on the subpoena, and the committees have been investigating President Biden’s family’s foreign business dealings and potential bribery, although no wrongdoing has been uncovered thus far. The impeachment inquiry faced a setback when a key witness was charged with lying about the first family’s business dealings.
Caitlin Yilek, a politics reporter at cbsnews.com based in Washington, D.C., provided this information. She previously worked for the Washington Examiner and The Hill and was a part of the 2022 Paul Miller Washington Reporting Fellowship with the National Press Foundation. The House Republicans’ subpoena is part of their efforts to investigate President Biden’s handling of classified documents and potential foreign business dealings, with a focus on any connections to troublesome foreign payments.
The Justice Department’s response to the subpoena and the ongoing investigation by House committees into President Biden’s actions as vice president and his family’s business dealings highlight the political tensions surrounding the current administration. The request for materials related to Hur’s investigation and the upcoming testimony to the Judiciary Committee suggest that this issue is likely to remain a point of contention in the political landscape. The deadline for the materials to be turned over falls on a significant date, the same day as the president’s State of the Union address, adding an additional layer of political significance to the investigation.
