Why the power of a US attorney has become a flashpoint in the Hunter Biden case

By LINDSAY WHITEHURST and FARNOUSH AMIRI
Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — House Republicans have grilled Attorney General Merrick Garland about the Justice Department investigation of Hunter Biden in a contentious hearing that delved into aspects of the criminal justice system that typically play out long before the case enters a public courtroom. Many questions from members of Congress centered on the yearslong investigation of the president’s son. Internal Revenue Service agents have claimed in whistleblower testimony the investigation was “slow walked” and the authority of the prosecutor in charge was curtailed by the Justice Department. Garland has strongly denied the allegations, but they could become a main line of attack as an impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden unfolds.