Dear Friend,

You might recall that back in February, Robert Hur released a DOJ special counsel report on President Biden, revealing that he "willfully retained and disclosed classified materials."

Mr. Hur even criticized Biden’s handling of classified documents, noting that they were often found in “damaged” and “opened” containers, which he stated “presents serious risks to national security.”

However, despite this and despite charging President Trump with classified documents, the DOJ did not charge Joe Biden for harboring them because he was a “sympathetic, well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory,” and Mr. Hur believed that it would be hard for a jury to convict him due to his memory.

Before the report was even released, the Biden administration wrote a letter to Hur asking him to revise his report, and after the report was released, they claimed the report mischaracterized Joe Biden, with Vice President Harris going as far as saying that the report was “inaccurate.”

Therefore, if the Biden administration believed the report was wrong, you’d think they would want the audio of Hur’s interview with Biden to be released to set the record straight.

Unfortunately, you would be wrong.

Instead, Biden’s DOJ head Merrick Garland bucked a congressional subpoena to release the audiotapes and proceeded to instruct Joe Biden to exert executive privilege over the audio records so they could not be released to the American public.

If the transcript of the interview is accurate, why will the DOJ not release the audiotapes?

Clearly, something is not adding up – and this White House already has a real habit of altering transcripts.

As a result, the House voted to hold Attorney General Garland in contempt of Congress this week for refusing to comply with the subpoena. You can view the vote here.

It’s baffling that Democrats are refusing to turn over the audiotapes, particularly since every Democrat on the Judiciary Committee supported my legislation earlier this year, which mandates the DOJ to record all criminal defendant interviews. Regardless of this, I am committed to uncovering the truth.

Thanks for starting your weekend off with us. We have so much more to tell you in this week’s Tiffany Telegram.

Sincerely,





Tom Tiffany
Member of Congress

Click here or on the photo above to watch me highlight why the Biden-Hur audiotapes should be released.

Restoring military readiness

This afternoon, the House passed the annual Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which sets the priorities for America’s military policies and programs. I cast my vote in favor of this bill, which will help put the Pentagon’s focus back on national security. That’s important, because for the last few years, the Biden administration has often seemed more preoccupied with pursuing liberal social experiments than making our country more secure. Among other things, this year’s NDAA promotes strength and unity in our armed forces by ending divisive racial preference programs. It also rolls back several costly and counter-productive “green energy” mandates. The bill confronts rising global threats posed by bad actors like Communist China and Islamic terrorist groups by enhancing our military cooperation with key democratic allies like Israel and Taiwan. It will keep us safer here at home by supporting enforcement efforts on America’s borders. During floor consideration of the legislation, lawmakers approved an amendment to block the expenditure of your tax dollars to transport any Palestinian refugees to our country – something I have been calling for since last year. The underlying bill also halts funding for President Biden’s $320 million boondoggle Hamas “port” – something I was among the first to raise concerns about. It also includes a provision ensuring that American taxpayers won’t be on the hook for any “reconstruction” costs in Gaza. Finally, and perhaps most importantly, the legislation will provide increased benefits and a well-deserved pay raise to America’s men and women in uniform. You can read more about the bill here and see how every lawmaker voted on the measure here.

This land was made for you and me – not the CCP

If there is one topic we should all be able to agree on, it’s that Communist China should not be able to buy up swaths of American land, particularly parcels adjacent to government property. That’s why this week, I helped introduce the No American Land for Communist China Act. This important legislation will prevent any agent of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), or business owned by the CCP, from buying land next to our federal lands, such as military installations, national labs, and land with critical resources. Communist Chinese agents purchasing pieces of America has become a growing issue, especially land that is near sensitive military outposts, as CCP entities have been potentially targeting that land for purposes of espionage. It’s past time for Congress to act to protect our national security. This is commonsense legislation, and while no House Democrats have agreed to sign on yet, I am optimistic about prospects for bipartisan support. Here’s the bottom line: We can’t waste any more time when it comes to tackling this problem. You can read more about the No American Land for Communist China Act here.

Biden’s (northern) border crisis

It is no secret that our wide-open southern border has played a major role in the mass illegal immigration crisis we are seeing, but what is not as often talked about is the impact Biden’s border crisis has had on our northern border as well. Stretching along 11 states, the United States-Canada border is the longest international border in the world – and a prime target for foreign smugglers and human traffickers. Since Joe Biden took office, he has made it a goal of his to intentionally tear down and dismantle the successful border policies that President Trump had put into place. Between 2021 and 2023 illegal alien encounters at our northern border increased by a whopping 700%, and this year, we are already on track to set another record. Earlier this month, I traveled with the Judiciary Committee to North Dakota to hear directly from local sheriffs and Attorney General Drew H. Wrigley on how President Biden’s lax approach to immigration enforcement has turned every state into a border state – and how it’s exponentially getting worse. After listening to their testimony, I joined several of my colleagues in proposing the Northern Border Security Enhancement and Review Act. This bill would require DHS to update its northern border security strategy, which the Biden administration has failed to do in the three and a half years since they took office. You can read more about this legislation here.

Committee Update

Judiciary

Trumped-up charges and election interference

As soon as it became clear that President Trump would be running again, lawsuits started coming out of the woodwork. On November 15, 2022, Trump officially announced he was running for President. On November 18, 2022, the Biden administration began pulling strings to accelerate cases against Trump to keep him off the ballot. First, DOJ Attorney General Merrick Garland announced the appointment of Jack Smith as Special Counsel to go after Trump for classified materials. Later that day, Joe Biden’s third-highest-ranking DOJ official Matthew Colangelo resigned to join the Manhattan DA’s office and resurrect their “zombie case” against Trump. Meanwhile, at the White House, attorneys were busy meeting with Nathan Wade – the Fulton County prosecutor going after Trump for election interference – for eight hours. While both Jack Smith and Nathan Wade’s cases against Trump are now postponed indefinitely due to alleged prosecutorial misconduct and evidence tampering, the Manhattan Democrat DA, judge, and jury found Trump guilty last month. This week in the House Judiciary Committee, we had a hearing on the actions of the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office. I asked one of our expert witnesses, a law professor, whether it was typical for a judge who contributed to a defendant’s opponent not to recuse themselves. She explained that not only is it not normal – but the circumstances surrounding the prosecution in Manhattan are “slam dunk 2024 election interference.”

Click here or on the photo above to watch my line of questioning with Professor Elizabeth Foley.

Recent Legislation

More hot “air” from the Biden admin

The Department of Energy (DOE) has a habit of ideological and often absurd regulations, such as the gas stove ban. Other times, their rules are simply impractical. In January 2022, the DOE released new minimum energy efficiency requirements for residential air conditioners. These standards are based on the installation date, rather than the manufacture date, which is abnormal and places a heavy burden on manufacturers – some right here in the Seventh District. That’s why I cosponsored Rep. Debbie Lesko’s (AZ-08) bill, the SMART Energy Efficiency Standards Act, to rectify the misaligned energy efficiency standards by standardizing the compliance deadline to the manufacture date.

District Update

Upcoming mobile office hours

Mark your calendars – a member of my staff will be in Marathon, Wood, Jackson, Monroe, Juneau, Barron, and St. Croix counties next week and later this month to assist residents who may need help with a federal agency. They will be able to help with federal matters concerning Veterans Affairs, Social Security, the IRS, Medicare, passports, and more. You can find more information on specific dates, times, and locations by clicking here. If you cannot make it to these mobile office hours and need assistance, please call my office at (715) 298-9344.  

Photo of the week

The Seventh District is full of picturesque farms, and as we celebrate Dairy Month, I hope to see you around some of them this month. A special thank you to all our hardworking farmers who work day in and day out to provide for us. If you have a photo of the week you want to share, please email it to [email protected] with your name and location.

“Once in a Blue Moon” – Submitted by Brent in Wausau

Resources  

Vacation is meant to be relaxing, so don’t let renewing or applying for your passport stress you out. The current processing time is 10 to 13 weeks, so we recommend getting this done as soon as possible. For more information, click here.

The USDA continues to make resources and assistance available to agricultural producers and working families to ensure access, safety and stability for food markets and supplies. 

If a friend forwarded you this newsletter, and you would like to receive it in the future, you can subscribe here for weekly updates and connect with me on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. 

As always, you are welcome to visit my website or to contact my offices in Washington, DC or Wisconsin, which remain open for service, if you have any questions or need assistance. 

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