Washington DC - Republican Representative Jim Jordan has subpoenaed Attorney General Merrick Garland, accusing him and the Department of Justice (DOJ) of spying on Congress.

Jordan, on behalf of The House Judiciary Committee which he is chair of, sent a letter on Tuesday notifying Garland of the subpoena.

It alleges the DOJ used "its law enforcement authority to obtain the private communications of Members of Congress and congressional staff members."

During the presidency of Donald Trump, the DOJ subpoenaed Google in 2017 for the private communications data of a congressional staffer in relation to investigations into the 2016 presidential elections and the related Steele Dossier.

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In October, Google shared the existence of the subpoena with Jason Foster who worked for Senator Chuck Grassley, the former chairman of the Judiciary Committee in 2017 which was investigating the DOJ at the time.

"Google's notification to this staffer revealed the Justice Department likely also sought the personal records and communications of other congressional staffers - both Republicans and Democrats - who engaged in oversight of the Department during the same period," the Judiciary Committee said in a statement.

Jordan, who is requesting the DOJ turn over all documents related to the subpoenas, noted in his letter that the committee originally reached out to the department on October 31, but as they have been uncooperative, the committee "must resort to compulsory process."

Garland now has until January 19, 2024 to comply with subpoena.