White House lawyer calls Republican request for documents improper

President Joe Biden's special counsel tells two Republican representatives that they currently lack authority to make a request for information

US President Joe Biden is currently on holiday and provided no reaction to the congressmen's request. AP

The White House on Thursday told Republicans hoping to investigate US President Joe Biden that their requests for information for planned inquiries are improper until they take over the House of Representatives next month.

Mr Biden's special counsel, Richard Sauber, told two Republican politicians expected to hold top oversight posts in the next Congress that they lack authority now and would need to re-do requests for materials they have already sent to the White House once their party takes control of Congress.

Mr Sauber told representatives James Comer and Jim Jordan in separate letters that their demands “were not made as part of the congressional oversight process” and suggested that they would not be honoured yet.

The representatives had requested documents related to investigations into the 2021 US withdrawal from Afghanistan, the origins of the Covid-19 pandemic — which started during the previous administration — and the federal government's response to threats against members of local school boards over pandemic-era restrictions and curriculum disputes.

“Should the committee issue similar or other requests in the 118th Congress, we will review and respond to them in good faith, consistent with the needs and obligations of both branches,” Mr Sauber wrote.

“We expect the new Congress will undertake its oversight responsibilities in the same spirit of good faith.”

US House Republicans — in pictures

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  House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy holds a press conference with members of Republican House leadership on the January 6 committee. AFP

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  Mr McCarthy, a US representative from California, is the leader of the Republican Party in the House. Reuters

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  Andy Biggs, a US representative from Arizona, questions Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas as he speaks before the House Judiciary Committee. AFP

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  House Minority Whip Steve Scalise speaks as Mr McCarthy listens during a news conference at the Capitol in Washington. AFP

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  Mr McCarthy heads to his office surrounded by reporters after House investigators issued a subpoena for him and four other Republicans as part of their probe into the violent January 6 insurrection. AP

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  Republican Matt Gaetz speaks during a rally with former president Donald Trump before the midterm elections. Reuters

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  Marjorie Taylor Greene, a Republican representative from Georgia, attends a rally for Ohio Senate candidate JD Vance. AP

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  Mr Scalise speaks to supporters as he celebrates his re-election in Metairie, Louisiana. AP

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  Jim Jordan, a US representative from Ohio, arrives to speak before former president Donald Trump at a rally in Ohio. AP

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  An image of Mr Scalise and former White House aide Cassidy Hutchinson during a January 6 committee public hearing. Bloomberg

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  Elise Stefanik became chairwoman of the Republican Conference after Liz Cheney was ousted. Bloomberg

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  Mr Biggs and others spoke out against the committee investigating the January 6 attack and the conditions of the jail where many prisoners arrested in connection to the attack are being held. AFP

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  Mr Biggs stands next to Ms Greene during a press conference. AFP

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  Michael McCaul, a Republican representative from Texas, questions Secretary of State Antony Blinken during a House Foreign Affairs Committee hearing in Washington. AP

Republicans, who take control of the House next month, have also prioritised investigating the Democratic President and his son Hunter's business dealings.

Democrats, who will retain control of the Senate, are working to aggressively contest those investigations.

Mr Comer, a Kentucky Republican, is expected to head the House Oversight and Reform Committee. Mr Jordan, an Ohio Republican, is expected to lead the judiciary panel. Both have threatened legal action if they are rebuffed.

In a statement, Mr Comer suggested that Mr Biden was falling short on promises to be transparent and vowed to “continue pressing for the answers, transparency and accountability that the American people deserve”.

House Judiciary Republicans posted a tweet calling the latest development “ridiculous”.

Mr Biden's lawyers and Democratic allies have dismissed the investigations as politically motivated, at odds with voters' priorities and worked to position the inquiries as extreme.

Joe Biden and family members — in pictures

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  President Joe Biden with his first wife Neilia Hunter Biden. Getty

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  The wedding announcement for Neilia Hunter and Joe Biden. Public Domain

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  Mr Biden with his first wife Neilia with sons Hunter and Beau. Neilia and 13-month-old daughter Naomi were killed in a car crash on December 18, 1972. Hunter and Beau sustained injuries, but survived the crash. Getty

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  Days before Mr Biden lost his wife, Neilia, and baby daughter, Naomi, in a car crash that left his sons badly injured. The News Journal-USA Today Network / Sipa USA

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  Joe Biden takes his oath of office from US Senate secretary Frank Valeo in son Beau's hospital room with his father-in-law, Robert Hunter, at his side. Bettmann / Getty Images

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  President Joe Biden arrives at St Joseph on the Brandywine Catholic Church in Wilmington. AP

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  US President Joe Biden with his sons Beau and Hunter and his wife Jill in an undated photo. AFP

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  The memorial of US President Joe Biden's late son, Beau Biden is pictured in the village of Sojevo, Kosovo. Reuters

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  Kosovo's ceremonial guard carry the presidential medal during a presidential medal ceremony for Beau Biden. AFP

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  Mr Biden and sons Hunter and Beau. Getty

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  US President Joe Biden, with his wife Jill Biden and members of his family as they salute the crowd on stage after delivering remarks in Wilmington, Delaware, on November 7, 2020. AFP

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  Mr Biden and first lady Jill Biden married in June 1977 and had one child together, daughter Ashley, as well as raising Hunter and Beau, Mr Biden's two sons with his first wife, Neilia. Getty

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  Beau Biden passed away in 2015 from brain cancer at the age of 46. AFP

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  Hunter Biden survived the car crash that occurred 50 years ago. Reuters

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  Ashley Biden is Mr Biden's daughter with second wife Jill. Getty

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  Naomi Biden is Mr Biden's oldest granddaughter. AP

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  Granddaughter Finnegan Biden regularly appeared on the campaign trail with her grandfather. AFP

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  Granddaughter Maisy Biden is close friends with former first daughter, Sasha Obama. AP

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  Granddaughter Natalie Biden is the daughter of the late Beau. Reuters

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  Grandson Robert Hunter Biden II was named after his uncle.

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  Mr Biden's sister Valerie Biden Owens, right, is highly active in her older brother's political campaigns. AFP

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  Mr Biden's brother Jim Biden was there for the first senate race in 1972 and the fatal crash. Getty

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  Daughter-in-law: Hallie Biden is the widow of the late Beau Biden, who she married in 2002. Reuters