Comer: Garland did ‘more damage to the credibility’ of DOJ than Fauci did to ‘public health’

House Oversight and Accountability Committee Chair James Comer (R-Ky.) on Sunday took a swipe at Attorney General Merrick Garland, claiming he did “more damage” to the “credibility” of the Department of Justice (DOJ) than former White House medical adviser Anthony Fauci did to “public health.”

“Look, Merrick Garland has done more damage to the credibility of the Justice [Department] than Dr. Fauci did to the credibility of public health,” Comer said in an interview on Fox News’s “Sunday Morning Futures.”

“I don’t think anyone in America believes anything that Merrick Garland is saying when he says that the Department of Justice isn’t political, they’re not treating Republicans different … differently than they’re treating Democrats, and that they haven’t done anything improper or inappropriate with respect to the Biden investigation,” he added.

House Republicans have long alleged the DOJ slow-walked a tax crimes investigation into President Biden’s son, Hunter Biden. Two IRS whistleblowers testified before the Oversight Committee last year, claiming the president’s son avoided true justice.

“We have had whistleblowers come forward with the IRS. We know from notes with the Securities and Exchange Commission and different jurisdictions with the Department of Justice that there were multiple investigations by multiple agencies of the Bidens over the past decade,” Comer said Sunday. “And, in every instance, the Department of Justice has told the investigators to stand down when the trail got to Joe Biden.”

House Republicans have struggled to solidify evidence that the Biden family engaged in corruption and that Biden was involved in his son’s foreign business deals while serving as vice president.

Garland testified before the Judiciary Committee last week, striking a more forceful tone against Republicans for their rhetoric surrounding investigations into former President Trump, specifically those led by district attorneys.

He also fielded questions and criticism from GOP lawmakers over his decision not to release the audio tapes of Biden’s interview with special counsel Robert Hur. Biden invoked his executive privilege to block House Republicans from obtaining the recordings, and Garland has maintained it was done to protect the DOJ’s ability to get cooperation in other “high-profile cases.”

Like Garland, Fauci came under attack by House Republicans when he testified earlier this month for the House Oversight and Accountability Committee investigating the federal COVID-19 pandemic response. Fauci was grilled on various conspiracy theories and unfounded claims about his actions regarding COVID-19 as GOP members tried to pin the blame on him for the struggles Americans experienced during the pandemic.

Comer later alleged Fauci lied to Congress about the government’s early COVID response, claiming the health chief made up the recommended 6-foot social distancing guidance.

The Hill reached out the DOJ for further comment.

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