House Republicans are weighing their next steps after the Department of Justice declined to allow two Tax Division officials to appear for depositions related to their impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden.
Republicans highlighted the issue in a report this week about the status of the DOJ portion of their inquiry, saying the department has “impeded the Committees’ investigation by baselessly preventing two Tax Division officials … from testifying, despite subpoenas compelling their testimony.”
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House Judiciary Committee Jim Jordan (R-OH) subpoenaed senior litigation counsel Mark Daly and trial attorney Jack Morgan to appear for depositions in September, but the depositions never occurred.
Republicans have indicated they plan to hold a floor vote to formalize their impeachment inquiry with a resolution next week. On Wednesday, a person with direct knowledge about Morgan and Daly said that "further steps" with them "will be determined after the House votes" next week.
The next steps would likely involve some form of litigation against the DOJ if Jordan and the department cannot reach an agreement on how to proceed.
Jordan has said the pair, who were involved in the DOJ's yearslong investigation into Hunter Biden, are "critical" to speak with as Republicans probe whistleblower allegations that the first son received preferential treatment that allowed him to avoid certain tax crimes.
The DOJ responded to the subpoenas at the time by noting in a letter that the department offered several senior-level people of interest to testify before the committee, including special counsel David Weiss and two current United States attorneys, “as an alternative to the Committee pursuing line personnel to testify about an ongoing criminal investigation and prosecution.”
The DOJ said it had "several well-established concerns" about the subpoenas, citing its long-standing positions that those in supervisory roles, rather than line attorneys, answer congressional questions and that it does not discuss non-public information about open investigations.
A department spokesperson reiterated this position in a statement Wednesday night, saying it "has already made six supervisory employees available to speak to the Committee for dozens of hours regarding allegations about the scope of Mr. Weiss’s authority. The Department has also authorized unprecedented testimony from the individual best positioned to speak to Mr. Weiss’s authority: David Weiss. Mr. Weiss confirmed that he is, and has been, the decision-maker on this case.”
In their report this week, Republicans detailed internal exchanges with the DOJ and accused the department of making a “bad-faith attempt” to delay the depositions. They said the DOJ’s reasons for withholding Daly and Morgan were “wholly inadequate” and argued that the DOJ has in the past provided Congress with certain information about ongoing investigations, as well as allowed lower-level employees to testify.
The DOJ appears to have agreed to let one such employee, Assistant U.S. Attorney Lesley Wolf, testify on Dec. 14 on a narrow scope of topics related to Hunter Biden after substantial back-and-forth with Jordan's office.
The Tax Division has had a critical role during the DOJ's Hunter Biden investigation.
Morgan and Daly, who work there, worked on the Hunter Biden case and represented the Tax Division during a key meeting at DOJ headquarters in June 2022 on prosecution decisions related to the first son.
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Gary Shapley, an IRS criminal investigator at the meeting who went public with concerns about the case this year, alleged that the Tax Division presented an argument against bringing charges against Hunter Biden at the meeting.
The Washington Examiner reached out to the DOJ for comment.