AG Merrick Garland set for September grilling by Jim Jordan, GOP critics

Attorney General Merrick Garland is expected to testify before the House Judiciary Committee in September, putting him in the hot seat before one of his major critics in Congress.

The Sept. 20 hearing would be Mr. Garland’s first round of testimony before the House GOP majority this year, according to Punchbowl News, which first reported the session.

Committee Chairman Jim Jordan of Ohio will likely grill Mr. Garland over the Department of Justice’s approach to investigating President Biden’s son, Hunter, and special counsel Jack Smith’s investigations into former President Donald Trump over sensitive documents stored at Mar-a-Lago and actions leading up to the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol.

Word of the hearing dropped as House Speaker Kevin McCarthy floated the possibility of impeaching Mr. Garland over the DOJ’s handling of Hunter Biden, who reached a deal to plead guilty to tax and gun charges that spared him jail time.

Republicans say it was a sweetheart deal and have pointed to whistleblow testimony from an IRS agent who raised questions about interference in the probe by U.S. Attorney David Weiss, a Trump appointee in Delaware.

“If it comes true what the IRS whistleblower is saying, we’re going to start impeachment inquiries on the Attorney General,” Mr. McCarthy told Fox News.

Mr. Garland has insisted that Mr. Weiss acted independently without interference from DOJ bosses.