attentive General Merrick Garland vowed Wednesday that he will not interfere with an investigation into Hunter Biden’s taxes, one that continues to unfold as Republicans in Congress intensify their focus on the president’s son.

Garland told the Senate Judiciary Committee that he has left the matter in the hands of U.S. Atty. David Weiss, the top federal prosecutor in Delaware, who would be given the authority to expand his investigation beyond the state if necessary.

He’s been told not to be denied anything he needs, Garland said. I didn’t want to hear from that office suggesting they can’t do everything the US attorney needs to do.

Garland’s appearance was his first rally since the new Congress, and came against the backdrop of special counsel investigations into classified documents found in the homes of former Presidents Trump and President Biden.

The Hunter Biden investigation began in 2018 and included an investigation into his income and payments he received while serving on the board of directors of Burisma, a Ukrainian gas company he had joined when his father was vice president, prompting led to a potential conflict of interest. .

Column: The appointment of special counsel in the Biden case tells us something new about Merrick Garland

When questioned by Republican Senator Charles E. Grassley of Iowa, Garland said that if payments were made secretly to support a foreign government, it would be a national security problem.

It remains unclear whether

Hunter

Biden can be sued. He has said that he handled my affairs legally and appropriately. President Biden has said he never spoke to his son about foreign affairs. There is no indication that the president is involved in the federal investigation.

Garland appoints a special counsel to review classified documents found in Biden’s home office

Garland was also questioned about fentanyl, a potent opioid responsible for rising overdose deaths in the US. There is no strategy I can discern on how to deal with the poisoning of Americans with fentanyl, said South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham, the top Republican on the panel.

Garland said fentanyl is a terrible epidemic deliberately unleashed by drug cartels in Mexico. He said the Justice Department is working to combat it, but it is a government-wide problem.