Merrick Garland denies partiality before an inquisitive Congress: "I am not the president's lawyer"

The attorney general was asked by the House Judiciary Committee to answer questions about his actions in cases such as the Hunter Biden case.

Merrick Garland, United States Attorney General, was questioned by the Judiciary Committee of the House of Representatives, chaired by Republican Congressman Jim Jordan, to present his defense for the sovereignty of the Justice Department in cases such as the accusations of former President Donald Trump or the investigations into Joe Biden and his family.

The chairman of the committee began his speech by stating "There's one investigation protecting President Biden. There's another one attacking President Trump. The Justice Department's got both sides of the equation covered," he added, referring to the fact that the judiciary is favoring Biden and his son Hunter.

With a forceful "I am not the president's lawyer," Garland wanted to settle any doubts about his role as United States Attorney General. 

Furthermore, he added that he is not "Congress's prosecutor" and that "the Justice Department works for the American people," since the federal agency's job is to "seek justice, without fear or favor" and not " do what is politically expedient."

Garland also defended David Weiss, who was appointed weeks ago as a special prosecutor and was responsible for charging Hunter Biden with the purchase of a gun, having lied at the time about drug use.

Republicans accuse the Justice Department of double standards and of ignoring all signs of corruption around Hunter Biden, which go far beyond the incident during the purchase of a revolver in 2018.

Also, Republicans consider that the harassment against former President Trump is political. For this reason, important voices within the Republican Party have proposed defunding both the Department of Justice and the FBI.

In this regard, Garland assured that withdrawing funds from the Justice Department would be "catastrophic" for the United States.