Garland says he has not discussed the Hunter Biden case with the president

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What questions will GOP press on Merrick Garland?

Hunter Biden probe, Gov. Andrew Cuomo nursing home scandal expected to be topics at hearing for attorney general pick Merrick Garland. Jamil Jaffer, director of the National Security Law & Policy Program at George Mason University, with reaction.

Judge Merrick Garland on Monday said he has not discussed the federal investigation into Hunter Biden’s tax affairs with President Biden.

During his confirmation hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Monday, Garland was asked about his conversations with the president.

GARLAND SEES ‘NO REASON’ WHY DURHAM SHOULDN’T BE LEFT IN PLACE FOR RUSSIA ORIGINS PROBE

"I have not," Garland said, adding that President Biden "has made abundantly clear" in his public statements "before and after my nomination" that decisions about prosecutions would be left to the Justice Department.

"That was the reason that I was willing to take on this job," Garland said. "So the answer is no."

In December, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said the president would not discuss any investigation related to Hunter with anyone he was considering for attorney general.

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Hunter Biden confirmed that he was under federal investigation for his "tax affairs" in December. The investigation is being led out of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Delaware.

MERRICK GARLAND CONFIRMATION HEARING KICKS OFF WITH QUESTIONS ON DURHAM, HUNTER BIDEN

A well-placed government source told Fox News that Hunter Biden is a subject/target of the grand jury investigation. According to the source, a "target" means that there is a "high probability that person committed a crime," while a "subject" is someone you "don't know for sure" has committed a crime. 

The source also told Fox News that this investigation was predicated, in part, by Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs) regarding suspicious foreign transactions. 

Another source familiar with the investigation told Fox News that the SARs were regarding funds from "China and other foreign nations."

The investigation, according to a source familiar with the matter, began in 2018. 

HUNTER BIDEN’S FOREIGN TRANSACTIONS REPEATEDLY FLAGGED AS POTENTIAL CRIMINAL ACTIVITY, SENATE PROBE FOUND

Earlier this month, the president and the Justice Department asked U.S. attorneys appointed by former President Trump to resign from their posts by the end of the month.

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The U.S. attorneys will begin transitioning out of their roles, with the exception of the prosecutor overseeing the federal tax investigation into Hunter Biden, David Weiss for Delaware. John Durham, the U.S. attorney for Connecticut, will resign from his position as U.S. attorney but will stay on as special counsel to continue his now years-long investigation into the origins of the Trump-Russia probe.

Garland, during his hearing, said that he has "no reason to doubt that was the correct decision," pointing to the move to ask Weiss to stay on as U.S. attorney amid the investigation, which he said he had heard was "proceeding discreetly." 

Fox News' Jake Gibson contributed to this report.