Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) blasted Attorney General Merrick Garland’s responses to House GOP lawmaker questions on the Hunter Biden probe for being “insulting” to the American people.
“I thought Attorney General Garland talked to the American people as if he were talking to Bambi’s baby brother,” he said on an appearance on “Fox & Friends.” “It was kind of insulting. The American people may be poorer under President Biden, but they’re not stupid. He didn’t talk about the facts.”
Garland appeared before the House Judiciary Committee on Wednesday, where he defended the Justice Department and the handling of a high-profile investigation into the president’s son.
Kennedy rattled off a series of claims in connection to the Hunter Biden investigation during his Wednesday appearance, including accusing the White House and the Justice Department of having the “skids greased through an inappropriate plea bargain.”
“But the whistleblowers came forward, and they have sort of been the stool sample in the White House and the Department of Justice’s punch bowl,” he added. “And final point, I think it’s clear to the American people that Mr. Hunter Biden is Fredo. He had to have lots of help to pull this off.”
One of the focuses of the hearing came from the testimony of an IRS whistleblower, Gary Shapley, who told lawmakers he believed Hunter Biden’s case was slow-walked by prosecutors. It also centered on his claims that prosecutor David Weiss sought a special counsel status earlier on but was denied it.
Garland denied any involvement in Weiss’s investigation, saying he left it up to Weiss on when he should pursue charges against the president’s son.
Weiss was elevated to a special counsel status in August, just weeks after a plea deal fell apart between Hunter Biden’s attorney and prosecutors over whether it limited further prosecution in the case.
When news of the plea deal broke, Republicans labeled it as a “sweetheart deal,” saying that it showed a “two-tier” system of justice — pointing to former President Trump’s numerous legal battles as a reason.