It was a remarkable, frenetic thrashing in what was expected to be a relatively routine, introductory status conference after the House Judiciary Committee sued last month to enforce its subpoena of DOJ attorneys Mark Daly and Jack Morgan over their involvement in the investigation of Hunter Biden's alleged tax crimes.
Republicans are demanding the two attorneys testify and say it's crucial for their ongoing impeachment probe of the elder Biden.
Rarely seeming to stop to catch her breath, she repeatedly dressed down DOJ attorney James Gilligan as he sought to explain the department's position, scolding him at times for interrupting her before continuing a torrid tongue-lashing that DOJ rarely receives from the bench.
She delved into great detail about the nuances of House procedure - like the chamber's rule against allowing executive branch lawyers to attend depositions - and even asked whether the Judiciary Committee had followed internal rules requiring that the ranking Democrat on the panel be notified of the subpoena to the DOJ attorneys before it was issued.
While Reyes was withering in her attacks on the DOJ's position, she was similarly unflinching in her criticism of the House for its stance in the dispute - particularly its claim that line lawyers working on the Hunter Biden tax probe are not entitled to attorney-client privilege.
At bottom, Reyes said she viewed it as unlikely that the two DOJ attorneys would ultimately be required to answer anything of substance from Congress, but that the department's effort to prevent them from showing up at all was a brazen affront.
The judge didn't seem impressed with that distinction and downplayed the significance of a Trump-era Office of Legal Counsel opinion contending that executive branch employees could defy such subpoenas if Justice Department lawyers were not allowed to be present.
https://www.politico.com/news/2024/04/05/biden-appointed-judge-torches-doj-00150884
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