HIGHLIGHTS: AG Garland Testifies on Hunter Biden Probe and January 6th Investigation

GARLAND: “Our job is not to do what is politically convenient. Our job is not to take orders from the president, from Congress or from anyone else about who or what to criminally investigate.

REP JOHNSON: "Can you tell us about any briefings or discussions that you personally have had with Mr. Weiss regarding any and all federal investigations of Hunter Biden.

GARLAND: "I'm going to say again- I promised the Senate I would not interfere with Mr. Weiss' --"

REP JOHNSON: "So you have not, under oath today your testimony is- you have not had any discussions with Mr. Weiss about this matter."

GARLAND: "Under oath, my testimony today is I promised the Senate I would not intrude on this investigation. I do not intend to discuss internal justice department deliberation whether or not I had them."

REP JOHNSON: "So your testimony today is you're not going to tell us if you had discussions with Mr. Weiss?"

GARLAND: "My testimony today is I told the committee that I would not interfere and made clear that Mr. Weiss would have authority to bring cases that he thought were appropriate."

REP JOHNSON: "Ok, let me stop you - [crosstalk] Are you aware that FBI officials have come before this committee and they have stated that there was a cumbersome bureaucratic process that Mr. Weiss had to go through to bring charges in another judicial district."

GARLAND: "I'm not aware, but that's not true. there is nothing cumbersome about the process."

GARLAND: "As the president himself has said, and I reaffirmed today, I am not the president’s lawyer. I will add, I am not Congress’s prosecutor. The Justice Department works for the American people. Our job is to follow the facts and the law. And that is what we do.”

MASSIE: “You’re citing the Constitution. I’m going to cite it. It’s our constitutional duty to do oversight. Now in that video, that was your answer to a question to me two years ago, when I said, ‘How many agents or assets of the government were present on January 5 and January 6, and agitating in the crowd to go into the Capitol and how many went into the Capitol?’ Can you answer that now?”
Garland: “I don’t know the answer to that question.”
MASSIE: “Oh, last time, you don’t know how many there were or there were none?”
Garland: “I don’t know the answer to either of those questions. If there were any, I don’t know how many, and I don’t know whether there are any.”
MASSIE: “I think you’ve may have just perjured yourself that you don’t know that there were any. You want to say that again, that you don’t know that there were any?” [crosstalk]
Garland: “I have no personal knowledge of this matter. I think what I said the last time —“ [crosstalk]
MASSIE: “You’ve had two years to find out, and the day — by the way that was in reference to Ray Epps, and yesterday you indicted him. Isn’t that a wonderful coincidence? On a misdemeanor. Meanwhile, you’re sending grandmas to prison. You’re putting people away for 20 years for merely filming, some people weren’t even there. Yet, you got the guy on video. He’s saying go into the Capitol. He’s directing people to the Capitol before the speech ends. He’s at the side of the first breach. You’ve got all the goods on him. 10 videos, and it’s an — it’s an indictment for a misdemeanor. The American public isn’t buying it. I yield the balance of my time to Chairman Jordan.”
Garland: “May I answer the question?”
Jordan: “I’m going to ask you one now. Let’s — we’ll let the gentleman —“
Garland: “Um —“
Jordan: “Go ahead, but —“
Garland: “In discovery, and the cases were filed with respect to January 6, the Justice Department prosecutors provided whatever information they had about the question that you’re asking. With respect to Mr. Epps, the FBI has said that he was not an employee or informant of — of the FBI. Mr. Epps has been charged. And there’s a proceeding I believe going on today on that subject.”