take it. join the team at contra costa college. start today at contracosta.edu a shocking accusation from cassidy hutchinson against rudy giuliani. "the lead" starts right now. in her new book, the star witness in the january 6 committee hearings, cassidy hutchinson now said rudy giuliani groped her. this according to an excerpt obtained by the guardian. now giuliani is responding. plus, interrogated on the hill. tough questions putz to attorney general merrick garland about the special counsel investigation news hunter biden an into donald trump and the justice department's decisions to proceed with charges. >> who does he report to? >> again i'm not going to get into. >> is it you. >> i'm ultly responsible. >> is it -- >> mr. weiss did not have to report to anybody. he was the supervisor and decision maker in these matters. also this hour, a brand-new cnn poll zeroing in on the primary state of new hampshire. a state trump won the primary for but lost in the general election. then and in 2020. where does he stand with the voters of new hampshire today? welcome to "the lead," i'm jake tapper. we begin with our law and justice lead, the attorney general of the united states, merrick garland, forcefully attempting to rebuke republicans who are accusing him and the justice department of political bias. >> as the president hip smself said and reaffirm today, i am not the president's lawyer. >> this is committee hearing today is the culmination of months of tensions. today those house republicans accuse the attorney general of weaponizing the justice department to work in favor of president biden's son hunter. while targeting president biden's opponent donald trump. garland defended the independence of the justice department and the special counsel saying no one has told the special counsel to indict trump or no one told him to indict trump and he has not interfered in any way in the hunter biden probe. sara murray begins our coverage of this intense day of questioning and how the plea deal fell apart in july. >> reporter: attorney general mayor. >> garland on capitol hill today. >> the fix is in. even with the face saving indictment last week of hunter biden, everyone knows the fix is in. >> i am not the president's lawyer. i will add, i am not congress's prosecutor. >> republicans on the house judiciary committee hounding garland about details in hunter biden after his plea deal and he was indicted last week in connection with a 2018 gun purchase. >> after five years, what stage are we in? are we in the beginning taj, the end stage, the -- >> i can't discuss ongoing cases. >> a judge called b.s. on the plea deal. >> garland rebuffing questions and deferring to special counsel dade weiss who is overseeing the hunter biden probe. >> i leave it to mr. weiss whether to bring charges or not. that would include whether to let statute of limitations expire or not. whether there was sufficient evidence to bring a case. that was subject to the statute of limitations or not. whether there were better cases to bring or not. >> reporter: the attorney general reiterating he stayed out of the hunter biden investigation. >> i promise the senate, when i came before it for confirmation, that i would leave mr. weiss in place and that i would not interfere with his investigation. >> has anyone at the department told president biden to knock it off? with hunter? >> no one that i know of has spoken to the white house about the hunter biden case. >> but the political interference accusation is sure to re-emerge as the gop controlled house proceeds with an impeachment inquiry to president joe biden. >> these are allegations of abuse of power, obstruction, and corruption. >> reporter: leaving garland to be threats of being held in contempt. >> aren't you held in contempt when you refuse to answer. >> i have the greatest respect for honor. and democrats defending garland. >> that is quite rich. because the guy who is leaving the hearing room mr. jordan is about 500 days into evading his subpoena. >> garland beating back criticism of the civil servants some of whom have been named by republicans as they barrel into the probe into alleged political bias at doj. >> singling out career public servants who are just doing their jobs is dangerous. particularly at a time of increased threats to the safety of public servants and they're families. we will not be intimidated. >> reporter: now just today special counsel david weiss said hunter biden should have to appear in person for his first court appearance on those gun charges to promote the public confidence that he's not getting any special treatment. jake, a judge just agreed with prosecutors and said hunter biden does have to appear in person in court in delaware next week. >> sara murray, thank you so much. let's bring in evan perez. the attorney general tried to shut down the claim that donald trump made, without a scintilla of evidence, that was priesiden biden that ordered trump be indicted. >> that is right. the theme of the day was that the justice department has been politicized and that the attorney general is doing the bids of joe biden, the president, in order to attack his chief opponent, donald trump, of course, in those indictments, those two federal indictments. here is former president making that claim over the weekend in an interview. >> he went to the attorney general of the united states and he told them indict trump. >> and not surprisingly, the attorney general pushed back against that saying that there has been none of that. none of those instructions. especially because the charges that have been brought have been brought by a special counsel. listen. >> no one has told me to indictment and in this case the decision toin indict was made by the special counsel. >> so that entertainment the president made on sunday was false? >> i'm just going to say again that no one has told me who should be indicted and -- in any matter like this. and the decision about indictment was made by mr. smith. >> reporter: jake, you say a lot of careful wording but more fire than in previous hearings. he pushed back when congressman from new jersey accused him of being -- of discriminating against catholics an he said that was an absurd claim and pushed back against claims that they are targeting for parents for speaking out at school board meetings. jake. >> evan, stick around and let's bring in adam kinzinger and former assistant attorney carrie cordero. adam, attorney garland refused to answer questions related to on going investigations led by special counsel weiss. there were called to hold him in cob contempt of congress and they pointed out that jordan refused to comply with your january 6 subpoena to testify. how do you interpret the back and forth? >> well, i mean it is just show. i think, look, yes, jordan refused to -- refused our subpoena. refused to talk to us. he and others did the same. and it also happened to be some of the loudest. it has completely been appropriate for the attorney general not to comment at this hearing on ongoing investigations. as far as i know, that is pretty much what every attorney general does. especially on issues like this. and all it is, it is jim jordan knows and the others on the committee know that he can't comment and so they try to fashion questions in a way that make it look like there is something that he's hiding when there is not anything he's hiding. he oversees the justice department and justice is being done for instance against donald trump and against hunter biden. but they're goal is to try to make it look like there is some double standard because that is what they've been saying even though that is not the case. >> and carrie, they're making a big attempt, these house republicans, to paint merrick garland as some democratic hack. but the truth is, there are republican, former attorney generals, including trump's own bill barr who have pointed to the strength of the cases against donald trump. >> right. well in this particular hearing, the attorney general really took pains to demonstrate that he is trying to lead the department in a nonpartisan, impartial way. and what that has meant is that he has appointed special counsels to take on cases where there could be any possible appearance or inference that he would be making decisions for any inappropriate reason. so when it pertains to the former president, he's ainppoind a special counsel and given jack smith decision making about the cases regarding former president trump. when it comes to the current president's son, he has now appointed the u.s. attorney in delaware as a special counsel to be able to make the final decisions in that case. so he is showing how much he is trying to keep his position as attorney general impartial and run the department in a nonpartisan way. but that means that he is extricated from the facts of the cases himself which then could make him appear like he's not answering questions. >> evan, i wonder if hunter biden's lawyers are kicking themselves for not making that plea deal work for getting their back-up when the judge was pushing and probing on it. because now he faces -- hunter biden faces federal gun charges, a special counsel investigation that is ongoing, he's likely going to face some tougher charges on -- on tax issues and los angeles and in washington, d.c. do you think his lawyers wish they could take a mulligan and do it over again. >> i think hunter biden believes that and certainly wishes that that were the case. look, i mean, the judge had not unreasonable questions when she asked these very questions at that hearing. what does this cover? do you understand, hunter biden, and your team, what this agreement covers and in the end what happened was hunter biden's lawyer got his back up and -- and said essentially, we don't have a deal. and that is something that you see now david weiss, the special counsel bringing up. he points out that it was hunter biden's attorneys who couldn't simply just answer the questions from the judge. and that is one reason why they're saying that hunter biden has to come back and present himself in court, you know, for his arraignment. he can't do it over zoom or video conference. and so, look, i do think there is a lot of wishing by hunter biden that this had gone through. because this is obviously going to be a very painful process. and it is going to be front and center as the republicans pursue their impeachment inquiry in the coming weeks, jake. >> adam kinzinger, how do you see these attacks by your former republican colleagues on the justice department? the attacks by matt gaetz and jim jordan and tom massey. what do you think they achieve in terms of the public's perception of the justice department? >> well, first off, their dishonorable and that is important to keep in mind. as we talk about the political impacts. the political impacts, i think they'll be effective. because as donald trump is facing legitimate charges, whether it is handling the classified documents, whether it is january 6, and all of these other issues and in georgia and new york, they're going to try to throw as much spaghetti against the wall to create people, they're going to flood the zone, as steve bannon would say, that is what you're going to see. you're going to see them continue to try to flood an the zone and i think it is some what effective but people need to keep in mind this is about a president that broke the law but not about a president's son that wouldn't wasn't in the government. >> thanks to all of you. cnn has a brand-new poll out this hour on the race for 2024 and the person coming in closest to donald trump in new hampshire, not florida governor ron desantis. a former attorney for donald trump who pushed election lies now on the list to testify against him in the georgia case alleging a conspiracy to steal the state's 16 electoral votes. plus we'll have that stunning accusation by cassidy hutchinson reported in the guardian from her new book. claiming that rudy giuliani groped her. stay with us. t-mobile for busin. mlb partners with t-mobile to not only enhance the fan experience, but to advance how the game is played. aaa relies onn t-mobile's network to stay connected nationwide, so they can help get their members back on the road. and we're helping pano ai innovate, to stop the spread of wildfires. now's the time to see what america's largest 5g network can do for your business. try killing bugs the worry-free way. not the other way. zevo traps use light to attract a trap flying insects with no or and no mess. they work continuously, so you don't have to. zevo. bug-deadly. ah morning. the golden hour of cold and flu symptoms. i'm feeling better. cough? 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the dove beauty bar, is gentle. it not only cleans, it hydrates my skin. as a dermatologist, i want what's best for our skin. with 1/4 moisturizing cream, dove is the #1 bar dermatologists use at home. in our 2024 lead, a new cnn poll conducted by the university of new hampshire, shows voters in that state are not yet sold on florida governor ron desantis becoming the nominee. this poll revealing a tight race among three other candidates despite being behind the front-runner. david chalian is at the magic wall to break it down. who is in the battle for second place among republicans in new hampshire? >> well as you know, in our brand-new cnn poll in partnership with the university of new hampshire, donald trump is the clear front-runner, at 39% support. this is among likely republican primary voters. jake, there is a four-way tie, basically, this is all margin of error, for second place. desantis at 10%, chris christie at 11% and haley at 12 and ramaswamy at 14. so there is a four-way hunt and take a look to the battle in the first of the nation primary state in july. if you take a look, donald trump is remaining the same since july. rama ramaswamy is way up. haley ask way up. christy is way up. ron desantis is way down. he's dropped from 23% to 10%. again, they are in a battle for the second place slot there. we asked republican primary voters, who do you think as best chance of winning the general election? 51%, a majority say donald trump. 16% say ron desantis and 10% say nikki haley. and remember donald trump is at 39% support. so about 20% of voters who were supporting someone else still think that donald trump has the best shot at winning. and although we see chris christie on the rise in this poll, take a look at his ceiling. it is pretty low. 60% of new hampshire likely republican primary voters say they would never, ever support chris christie. mike pence is a low ceiling for someone like chris christie. >> what are new hampshire republican voters top issues and what are they looking for in a nominee? >> so in terms of the top issues, 39% say it is jobs and economy. 19% say immigration. 6% cost of living also related to the economy. of course, 6% foreign policy. but, jake, i find this fascinating. look at how it breaks when you look at trump supporters versus all of other voters that are supporting candidates not named trump. you see a difference here. among trump supporters, the issue set jobs in the economy and immigration are tied for the top position. personal freedom is next at 10%. but look, if you are not supporting donald trump, overwhelmingly nearly half, 48% say it is jobs an the economy. 14% say immigration. and you said what are they looking for in a nominee? we also see big differences between trump supporters and those supporting someone else. among trump supporters, 97% looking for someone who said what they believe. 60% strong morals. 93% fighting for conservative values. and less important to them is someone being respectful. but look here, if you're not supporting donald trump, 74% has strong morals. 88% said what they believe. 75% are looking for someone would could attract nonrepublican support to win. 73% are looking for someone respectful. you see the different sort of qua qualities in a candidate that are supporting the former president and those that are not, jake. >> all right, david chalian. thank you so much. joining us now, someone who has been spending a lot of time talking to those very republican voters in new hampshire, cnn chief national correspondent john king. john, how did the new cnn new hampshire poll compared to the voters you've been personally speaking with? >> it matches up quite closely. reporting when you talk to voters it is anecdotal but then you look at the numbers and say okay, we found good voters. what does it tell you. six in ten republicans or people who plan to vote in the republican primary want somebody else. so donald trump could be beat. but do not mistake that for donald trump will be beat. with the fractured field, it is very difficult as david noted. nobody as emerged as a clear alternative to trump. but listen here, these are two trump voters. they are both for trump. she was for rand paul last time in the primary. he was for trump last time in the primary. both say it is a little different this time. >> i personally doan think he's as strong as he was in 2016. i have people would argue with me about that and tell me i'm wrong and get mad that i'm saying this but i'm going to be honest and say i don't see in. >> why? >> i don't see the same enthusiasm. >> then compared to now. >> i think it would be less now. i think more people in new hampshire were for new england -- were more for trump than they are now. because of all of the legal cases and, yeah, it did impact him around here. >> the challenge is that he's not the new guy. he doesn't sound as insurgent and tweeting up a storm which natalia likes. but he still has the support and can anyone else, not four or five, can one somebody else emerge. at the moment it looks like 2016. answer to that question today is no. >> one of the voters with whom you spoke is a commercial fisherman registered as an independence. voters for trump in 2016 leaning toward a different candidate in 2024. let's take a listen. >> i'm extremely likely to vote for robert kennedy, yes. he's willing to state that we should not blindly trust corporations or our government. >> rfk jr.? really? >> really. an lucas said a lot of his republican-leaning friends in the commercial fishing industry are with him. what is that? when they went to trump in 2016, they wanted a nontraditional politician and they view trump as a politician. and andrew -- lucas votes for him in 2016 but didn't like the chaos. he liked the policies but didn't think trump could be effective. and why does he want robert kennedy? he shared the joe rogan podcast and he liked what he heard. and the fishing industry in new hampshire is in decline. they think they're on the verge of extinction. and robert kennedy has helped fisherman in the past and fight commercial pollution in their waters they see someone who might help them protect their job. that is it. they'll excuse everything else. >> yeah, sure. there is a very attractive anti-corporation, anti-establishment message from him combined with all of the other stuff there. as yo as you mentioned, some of the new hampshire voters are focused very much on economy. that is is also reflected in this new poll. but in a nationwide abortion ban after 15 weeks, 78% of supporters back it compared to the 40% who support other republican candidates. what are you hearing about voters thoughts on this? >> in new hampshire you hear almost nothing unless you ask the question and that is a very important point. new hampshire votes, it is more of an independent, more of a libertarian electorate. they don't bring up abortion unless you ask them about it. that is not universal but close to universal. this is an interesting challenge going forward and the difference between iowa and new hampshire. can governor desantis rebound. and the abortion issue will play more about six in ten, maybe more of that voters in iowa will be evangelicals. only about 20% in new hampshire, 25% identify that way. that is what they think. but it is not a big voting issue in new hampshire. watch iowa. >> new hampshire is very different. new hampshire republicans than iowa republicans. thank you so much. today republican senator rand paul of kentucky said he will not sign any government spending bill that includes funding for ukraine. i'm going to get reaction from retired navy pilot turned astronaut and u.s. senator mark kelly. that is next. stay with us. - they slept on me for 15 years. things i collected, pollen, dust, dander. all that time they could have protected me with an allerease mattress protector. it would've been soft and blocked 99.9% of dust, dirt, and allergens. allerease for a clean, healthy night's sleep. nice footwork. man, you're lucky, watching live sports never used to be this easy. now you can stream all your games like it's nothing. yes! [ cheers ] yeah! woho! running up and down that field looks tough. it's a pitch. get way more into what you're into when you stream on the xfinity 10g network. in our politics lead, as house republicans argue over a spending agreement to try to keep the federal government from shutting down, u.s. military aid to ukraine has become a central issue. after making his plea tor continued support on the world stage, ukraine president volodymyr zelenskyy is headed to washington, d.c. to take his pitch directly to u.s. lawmakers. joining us now to discuss, mark kelly from arizona. who serves on the senate armed services committee. senator, thank you for joining us. so president zelenskyy is expected to meet with president biden in d.c. tomorrow. you and your colleagues will soon get a classified briefing on ukraine ahead of the visit. his return comes as the house is locked into this contentious government funding fight in part over u.s. aid for ukraine. how do you respond to your colleague senator rand paul who will not consent to expedited passage of any spending measure that provides any more u.s. aid to ukraine, unquote. do you think funding ukraine should be tied to the pending bill, the government spending bill? >> well, jake, i just got from ukraine last night at about 10:00 p.m. and this is my second trip and it reinforced the fighting spirit of the ukrainian people under horrific circumstances. vladimir putin is committing war crimes daily against women and children. and this is really a fight of good versus evil. and the american people have always stood on the side of good here. we've got to fund ukraine at the same time we've got to keep the government open. closing down the federal government hurts people. it will hurt my constituents and people across the country. >> what did the ukrainian commanders tell you they need to defend themselves against russia, things that they're not getting maybe? >> well we talked a lot about f-16s. i met with f-16 -- or mig 29 pilots that will hopefully transition to the f-16. so i had a round table of commanders and pilots. these were some of the colleagues of the mig 29 pilot that was killed in that tragic accident a couple of weeks ago. and we talked about specific capabilities. so they need to transition to a fourth generation fighter and we're doing that. they also need a longer range surface-to-surface missile. the artillery, that goes about 18 miles. himars about 45. the atacms goes about 190 miles. so that will make a differencech and we sh those discussions. i'm interested to see what the d.o.d. said in comparison to ukraine. >> about the atacms. if this was included. here is how he answered. >> in terms of whether or not that request is a legitimate request, i -- i won't endeavor to evaluate ukraine's request if they requested it, they believe that they need it. >> do you think it is a mistake to not include atacms in any aid package? >> well we're discussing it. it is a significant capability. it will help them. there are targets right now that they can't engage with himars an other systems. we had this discussion with milt commanders. it is something that they feel is necessary and i think it will make a difference in this fight. >> i want to turn to the news that chuck schumer caved to a demand by tommy tuberville to bring up a small handful of votes onmill promotions. after tuberville threatened to force a rare procedural vote to circumstance up vent his month's long blockade on 300 other nominations because he objects to a travel allowance to troops and their families who want to travel to other states if they want to get abortion care. what is your response to this move by schumer? >> well first of all, what senator tuberville is doing is unconscionable. i talked to tenth mountain division soldiers about this. this is having an effect in poland with the u.s. military and anything that effects the u.s. military in poland supporting the fight in ukraine, it affects that fight as well. so this is having an impact against russiament it is really up to tommy tuberville to release this whole -- it is doing significant damage to our military. at the same time, i mean, some of these, you know, the commendant of the marine corp and the chairman and the chief of staff the army, it is important that we get these individuals confirmed. >> i just have a few seconds left. but i wondered what you thought of schumer changing the senate dress code. it will accommodate what could perhaps best be called the broski takes the garbage to the curb on sunday outfits that senator fetterman from my beloved commonwealth of pennsylvania favors. do you like these more casual looks? >> i don't like it. and i think it would have been better if we had a discussion about it ahead of time. >> all right. senator mark kelly of arizona. good to see you, sir. thank you very much. >> thank you, jake. witness for the prosecution, a pro-trump election denying lawyer is now cooperating with the fulton county d.a. that is next. oh. yeah. free. get a free eye exam m when you buy two pairs of glasses starting at just $79.95. book an exam today at americasbsbest.com. thursday night football on prime. it's on. thursday night football returns. as the giants take on the 49ers. stream thursday night football. only on prime. my most important kitchen tool? my brain. so i choose new neuriva ultra. unlike some others, it supports 7 brain health indicators, including mental alertness from one serving. to help keep me sharp. try new neuriva ultra. think bigger. in our law and justice lead, lawyers for the former president donald trump were inside of a georgia courtroom attending the hearing for three fake electors who were trying to get their cases in the fulton county indictment moved to federal court. as we learn a former election denying pro-trump lawyer is now a witness for the prosecution. nick valency is outside of the courthouse. this was supposed to be a routine hearing but things got pretty heated? >> reporter: that is right, jake. this hearing was intended to address a technical motion by the fakt electors trying to get their case moved from state to federal court in hopes of getting it dismissed. about you this quickly derailed in a clash between the state and defense over whether this case was political in nature. one said that there is a sad state aafter affairs in this country that any supporter of the former president who participated in the political process is at risk of being indicted. schaefer's attorney went on to say that the fake electors were trying to preserve the former president's right to contest the 2020 election. the state's attorneys though, they pushed back on this claim saying that it was categorically false and any -- and the prosecutor went on to say that anyone, whether or not they were republican or democrat, anyone who signed a fake elector certificate would have been charged by this district attorney's office. as for ma motion, the judge said he would decide at a later date. but perhaps the biggest bombshell of the day is what you alluded to, jake. in that lin wood, he is now listed as a witness for the state here. we did reach out to him to see if he is cooperating or flipped on the former president. but wood did not immediately respond. jake. >> all right. also joining us is robert james, former dekalb county former district attorney. mr. james, good to see you again. what do you make of the idea here that lin wood, who filed several meritless lawsuits filled with wild and false election fraud series, somebody who had built up a reputation for unhinged behavior in claims is actually a witness for the prosecution? is helping the d.a.'s office. what level of cooperation might he be provided? >> it may be complete cooperation. or it may not be complete. it may be a scenario where he's -- his lawyer and him have gotten together with the d.a. and decided they're going to cooperate and assist or maybe a situation where he knows something or has said something that is documented and he's going to be called as an adverse or hostile witness and be forced to testify. time will tell. >> what do you make of the fact that trump's lawyers were in court today for this hearing for these three fake electors who were trying to move their case from fulton county court to federal court? why would trump lawyers be there possibly? >> well, look, trump's lawyers are there, number one, if you're representing someone, that is implicated in the conspiracy and that is what has been charged here, in georgia, you want to hear what the other lawyers have to say. you want to understand how it works, or jives with your theory of your case. number two, i suspect that if these lawyers for these quote/unquote fake electors are successful, then toss going to embolden and empower other lawyers and trump lawyers to follow suit and do the exact same thing and file the exact same motion. so if your trump's lawyers, you wan to hear all of it. >> how concerned do you think the other defendants lawyers should be? >> how conservative? >> how concerned. how concerned should the other defendants' lawyers be? >> well, look, they should be very concerned if -- if you're talking about a situation where people are cooperating. other wise, getting out of, in my opinion, getting out of fulton county and into the federal court is a long shot. it is already disfavored and turned down on multiple occasions by federal judges. i don't think it will happen. i think the further you get away from being employed as a foederl employee and acting as an elector, i don't think it will work but i think the lawyers are doing their jobs. >> all right. robert james, good to see you. thank you so much. appreciate your time today. >> thank you. as the worm watches, the horrors in ukraine another conflict is very worthy of your attention. this one in a region where there have been known calls for genocide. we'll tell you where an why, next. and the snack dad. all using chase to keep up with their f finances. the coach helps save goals here, because she saved for r soccer camp there. anddd check this out... the manager deposited a check. magic. and the snack dad? 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well for starters, do you include hearing benefits? how about a plan with dental, vision and hearing benefits? i sure like the sound of that! then how does a zero dollar monthly plan premium sound? ooooooooh! if you're new to medicare, call 1-888-65-aetna. we'll walk you through all your coverage and benefit options to help find the right plan for you. the power goes out and we still have wifi to do our homework. and that's a good thing? great in my book! who are you? no power? no problem. introducing storm-ready wifi. now you can stay reliably connected through power outages with unlimited cellular data and up to 4 hours of battery back-up to keep you online. only from xfinity. home of the xfinity 10g network. welcome to the lead. i'm jake tapper. funding fight growing more intense. take a listen. >> it's completely inexplicable. and, i think it's indefensible. so, you know, here we sit. so now we've got to figure out how to move the ball forward. >> 10 days left to fund the federal government, republicans are warning the chances of a shutdown are growing more and more likely plus a stunning claim by a former trump insider cassidy hutchinson in her new book coming out reported by the guardian. she writes, that rudy giuliani groped her on january 6th. giuliani just responded. and leading this hour, the attorney general merrick garland long day on capitol hill. trying to defend the justice department from republican accusations that it has become politicized. republicans say garland has weaponized the doj to work in favor of the president son, a claim that garland attempted to forcefully push back against. let's bring in jessica snyder. what exactly did garland say in response to this claim. >> the attorney general insisted throughout this 5.5 hour hearing, that neither here nor anyone at the justice department has ever interfered in any of the ongoing special counsel investigations including investigations into the former president trump and the current president son, hunter biden but republicans throughout this, kept pressing, especially when it came to hunter biden. they question the attorney general about any interactions or conversations he may have had with the fbi, to that, garland really deflected to re