DOJ tells House GOP it won't share info about ongoing criminal probes

Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan had sought the information.

January 20, 2023, 5:31 PM

The Department of Justice has informed the House Judiciary Committee it is unlikely to share information with investigators about ongoing criminal probes or any non-public information about any DOJ investigation, according to a letter obtained by ABC News.

"Longstanding Department policy prevents us from confirming or denying the existence of pending investigations in response to congressional requests or providing non-public information about our investigations," Assistant Attorney General Carlos Uriarte wrote in a letter to Chairman Jim Jordan.

The letter comes in response to Jordan's sweeping Jan. 17 requests to DOJ as well the FBI, DEA and ATF. DOJ's reply is a relatively standard response that the department would send at the beginning of a new Congress.

In this June 2, 2022, file photo, Ranking Member Jim Jordan listens during a House Judiciary Committee mark up hearing in the Rayburn House Office Building in Washington, D.C.
Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images, FILE

The department does not state it plans to stonewall all requests from Jordan, who has vowed to be aggressive in seeking information on investigations ranging from the department's probe into Hunter Biden and the ongoing special counsel investigations of former President Donald Trump and President Joe Biden.

DOJ also explained additional guidance for potential hearing requests from the committee, writing that once the format of the hearing is established DOJ will typically work to find one or more officials to appear, but said line agents or line attorneys would not be available.

"As a matter of longstanding policy and practice, the Department refrains from making line agents and line attorneys available for congressional testimony or interviews," Uriarte wrote.

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