WASHINGTON, Jan. 13 (Reuters) – Republicans within the U.S. Home of Representatives on Friday launched an investigation into the Justice Division’s dealing with of improperly held categorised paperwork held by President Joe Biden, questioning whether or not his son Hunter had entry to any recordsdata. .

Senior Republicans on the Home Judiciary Committee mentioned in a January 13 letter to Lawyer Normal Merrick Garland that the Justice Division’s appointment of Robert Hur as particular counsel on the case this week raises “basic oversight questions”. They requested all related paperwork and communications between the division, the FBI, the White Home, and Biden’s attorneys.

The letter comes a day after Biden’s authorized staff admitted to discovering categorised paperwork at his Delaware house, some in his storage, relating to his time as vice chairman underneath the Obama administration. Aides had beforehand discovered one other batch of categorised paperwork at his house and at a Washington assume tank he was affiliated with.

Earlier on Friday, Home Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer wrote to the White Home asking if Hunter Biden had entry to categorised paperwork discovered within the president’s personal residence.

“It’s unclear when the division first discovered of the existence of those paperwork and whether or not it actively hid this data from the general public on the eve of the 2022 election,” Home Judiciary Speaker Jim Jordan and fellow board Republican Mike Johnson instructed Garland. in your letters.

“We sit up for your full cooperation with our investigation,” they wrote, setting a deadline of January 27 for compliance.

White Home and Justice Division officers weren’t instantly obtainable for remark.

The 2 Republican investigations are a distraction for the Democratic president, who criticized his Republican predecessor Donald Trump’s dealing with of categorised materials, and will forged a shadow over Biden as each he and Trump put together for a doable 2024 election rematch.

It additionally supplies fodder for Republicans who’ve pledged to focus their new majority on a string of investigations into the Biden administration.

Along with analyzing how Biden dealt with categorised paperwork, Republicans are poised to research Hunter Biden’s previous enterprise dealings in Ukraine.

Comer, chairman of the Home Oversight Committee, mentioned in a letter to the White Home that the home the place the paperwork had been discovered was listed on Hunter Biden’s driver’s license as his deal with in 2018.

The letter reads, “The Committee is worried that President Biden is hiding categorised paperwork at his son’s residence whereas the USA makes worldwide enterprise offers with its enemies.”

Republicans have tried to check the investigation into Biden’s dealing with of categorised paperwork with the continuing investigation into how Trump dealt with categorised paperwork after his presidency.

However authorized specialists say their instances will not be the identical.

The White Home mentioned Biden’s attorneys discovered a small variety of categorised paperwork and handed them over after they discovered them. Trump resisted doing so till an FBI search in August discovered almost 100 categorised paperwork, elevating questions as as to if Trump or his staff was obstructing the investigation.

Report by Gram Slattery and David Morgan; Fiction by Richard Cowan and Josie Kao

Our requirements: Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.