Republicans on the House Judiciary Committee are gearing up to question Special Counsel Robert Hur on March 12 regarding his probe into President Joe Biden’s alleged mishandling of classified information.
According to a source familiar with the upcoming hearing, committee members are expected to criticize what they perceive as a two-tiered justice system.
They point to Special Counsel Jack Smith’s decision to charge former President Donald Trump for allegedly mishandling classified documents while not charging President Biden for similar actions.
The Republicans on the committee plan to highlight what they view as an aggressive approach by the Department of Justice (DOJ) toward President Trump over his alleged mishandling of classified materials compared to the handling of President Biden’s case.
The upcoming hearing is anticipated to be contentious. Committee members are likely to push for more transparency and accountability in the DOJ’s actions.
One of the key issues is the DOJ’s failure to comply with a subpoena for transcripts, audio recordings, video, and notes from Mr. Hur’s two-day interview with President Biden. This failure to provide requested materials has led to increased scrutiny from Republicans, demanding equal treatment under the law.
House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.) expressed concerns about the DOJ’s handling of the case, stating, “Americans expect equal justice under the law, and DOJ is allowing the Bidens to operate above it.”
He referred to evidence uncovered by Special Counsel Hur’s investigation, which allegedly showed that President Biden retained and disclosed classified materials after his vice presidency.
Despite the findings, Mr. Hur concluded that President Biden’s prosecution was unwarranted based on the Department of Justice’s Principles of Federal Prosecution.
According to Mr. Hur’s report, the decision not to charge President Biden was based, in part, on his cognitive issues and the belief that a jury would not convict him.
The report also mentioned classified materials related to President Biden’s 2015 phone call with then-Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk, where he called for firing Ukrainian prosecutor Viktor Shokin. These materials were found in President Biden’s residences and other locations the FBI searched.
The upcoming hearing is expected to shed further light on the investigation and the DOJ’s decision-making process regarding President Biden’s handling of classified information.