Democrat President Joe Biden’s Department of Justice (DOJ) issued a statement late on Friday evening pushing back on remarks that the president made in which he appeared to weigh in on matters that the DOJ did not seem to appreciate.
The statement from the DOJ came in response to the following exchange that Biden had with reporters at the White House:
REPORTER: Mr. President, what’s your message to people who defy Congressional subpoenas on the January 6 committee?
BIDEN: I hope that the committee goes after them and holds them accountable criminally.
REPORTER: Should they be prosecuted by the Justice Department?
BIDEN: I do, yes.
Biden’s remarks referred to former Trump administration officials who investigators subpoenaed last month over the January 6th riot at the U.S. Capitol.
“Former chief White House strategist Steve Bannon’s lawyer has told the committee he won’t comply with the congressional subpoena,” Politico reported. “The House panel scheduled a vote to hold Bannon in contempt of Congress on Tuesday. If that vote moves forward, the full House, slated to reconvene next week, will then hold a vote. If the House moves to hold Bannon in contempt, which is likely with Democrats’ slim majority, then the matter will be referred to the U.S. Attorney for Washington D.C. for criminal prosecution.”
DOJ spokesperson Anthony Coley quickly responded to Biden’s remarks, saying in a statement: “The Department of Justice will make its own independent decisions in all prosecutions based solely on the facts and the law. Period. Full stop.”
As previously reported by The Daily Wire, Biden sparked controversy earlier this year with remarks that he made about whether he would allow the DOJ to seize records belonging to reporters.
“Would you prevent your Justice Department from doing that?” CNN’s Kaitlan Collins asked Biden in reference to reporters who had their phone records and emails collected by the U.S. government.
Biden responded by calling it “absolutely, positively wrong.”
“It’s simply, simply wrong,” Biden said.
When asked if he would allow his Justice Department to collect reporter’s records, Biden responded, “I will not let that happen.”
However, journalists and political commentators quickly noted problems with the remarks that Biden had made, mainly that the administration had repeatedly stated that the DOJ would operate independently under Biden.
Journalist Yashar Ali highlighted Biden’s previous remarks about not interfering with the work that the Justice Department does.
“Great!” Ali wrote. “But I have a question, how can he promise this definitively while also promising to not interfere?”
Political commentator Mike Cernovich took a different angle in responding to Biden’s remarks, writing: “President Biden admits that he personally directs DOJ actions and investigations, which is a violation of longstanding democratic norms re: DOJ’s independence.”
This report has been updated to include additional information.