House Judiciary Chairman Jordan sends letters to AG Garland, Sec. Mayorkas, others to warn against destruction of requested records

By 
 November 23, 2024

When President-elect Donald Trump's administration takes over in late January, it will be complemented by Republican majorities in the House and Senate, and that could spell bad news for President Joe Biden and his outgoing administration.

On Friday, House Judiciary Committee Chair Jim Jordan (R-OH) sent nearly identical letters to Attorney General Merrick Garland and Homeland Security Sec. Alejandro Mayorkas and demanded they preserve all documents related to immigration policies, Just the News reported.

Similar records preservation demands were sent to the Federal Trade Commission and Commodity Futures Trading Commission last week, and Special Counsel Jack Smith earlier in the month, with the clear implication being that current and ongoing investigations into certain aspects of the Biden-Harris administration will continue in the next session of Congress.

Concerns DOJ may try to "purge" relevant requested records

In an eight-page letter to AG Garland on Friday, Chairman Jordan wrote, "With President Trump’s decisive victory earlier this month, we are concerned that the Department may attempt to purge relevant records, communications, and documents responsive to our numerous requests for information."

"We reiterate our requests, which are itemized in the attached appendix and incorporated herein, and ask that you produce the entirety of the requested material as soon as possible but no later than December 6, 2024," he continued.

"Furthermore, this letter serves as a formal request to preserve all existing and future records and materials related to the Biden-Harris Administration’s enforcement of federal immigration law," the chairman asserted.

"You should construe this preservation notice as an instruction to take all reasonable steps to prevent the destruction or alteration, whether intentionally or negligently, of all documents, communications, and other information, including electronic information and metadata, that are or may be responsive to this congressional inquiry," he added. "This instruction includes all electronic messages sent using official and personal accounts or devices, including records created using text messages, phone-based message applications, or encryption software."

The attached appendix then listed more than 50 immigration policy-related questions from the committee, some of which date back to January 2023, that still have not been answered.

Nearly 100 unanswered questions for DHS about border and immigration policies

Chairman Jordan also sent a 12-page letter to DHS Sec. Mayorkas and expressed a similar concern about attempts by outgoing officials to destroy documents and other information that the House Judiciary Committee has requested.

That letter included nearly 100 unanswered questions from the committee about DHS and its handling of various aspects of the Biden-Harris administration's border security and immigration policies.

Special Counsel Smith warned to preserve requested documents and communications

Just a couple of weeks earlier, Chairman Jordan's committee sent a similar letter to Special Counsel Jack Smith's office that noted public reports about how "prosecutors in your office have been 'gaming out legal options' in the event that President Donald Trump won the election."

"With President Trump's decisive victory this week, we are concerned that the Office of Special Counsel may attempt to purge relevant records, communications, and documents responsive to our numerous requests for information. The Office of Special Counsel is not immune from transparency or above accountability for its actions," the letter continued, followed by the same demand to preserve all relevant records related to the committee's prior requests for information.

Those requests were centered on the "politicized prosecutions of President Donald Trump" and included all relevant documents and communications related to the execution of a search warrant on Trump's Mar-a-Lago home, the hiring and selection of current and former special counsel staff, and any coordination between the special counsel and DOJ related to the investigation and prosecution of Trump.

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