Rep Tom Tiffany quizzes an unsuspecting AG Merrick Garland about incident at Madison Naked Bike Ride

MADISON – About 3 1/2 hours into a Wednesday hearing that centered on high-profile investigations of Hunter Biden and former President Donald Trump, Republican U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany posed a question to Attorney General Merrick Garland about a local June incident — to which Garland furrowed his brow in apparent confusion.

"There was a World Naked Bike Ride in Madison, Wisconsin, just a couple months ago," Tiffany said. "I sent you a letter two months ago, asking if you had a problem with that, because it exposed a 10-year-old girl, by the race organizers, to pedaling around Madison, Wisconsin, naked. Do you think that's a problem? And why did you not answer our letter from two months ago?"

Garland said he would ask the Office of Legislative Affairs to respond to Tiffany, who then asked if it typically takes two months to respond.

"It sounds like you're asking about a question about state and local law enforcement. We get hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of letters," Garland said.

Tiffany ended the exchange: "State and local law enforcement would not act. We were hoping you would. It's obvious you are not."

Tiffany was referencing a letter he sent with Republican U.S. Rep. Scott Fitzgerald on July 14, which asked Garland to investigate a young girl's participation in a local World Naked Bike Ride event, which is also hosted in Milwaukee.

Both Tiffany and Fitzgerald's offices previously confirmed to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel that they had not heard from DOJ after they requested a response by Aug. 26. DOJ did not respond to requests for comment on the letter and if the federal department was investigating the incident.

Local Madison police received multiple complaints about the girl's participation, including from a conservative Dane County supervisor, but the Dane County District Attorney determined her participation did not violate any state laws.

The state Department of Justice's Division of Criminal Investigation also was never involved in investigating the incident, a spokeswoman said Thursday.

More: A young girl's participation in Madison's Naked Bike Ride didn't violate state law, police say. Here's why.

A spokeswoman for the Madison Police Department said Thursday there were no updates in the case. Police had planned to reexamine the case if more information became available and discuss internet safety with the girl and her mother if they were identified.

The police department's Special Victims Unit reviewed the photo depicting the girl's participation but determined Wisconsin's statutes on possession of child pornography did not apply because the photo was not sexual in nature. Police also determined a statute relating to exposing a child to harmful material or narrations did not apply.

But Tiffany and Fitzgerald disagreed with police, organizers and legal experts that because the purpose of the event was not sexual, local ordinances and state laws would likely not apply.

"The laissez-faire attitude of all parties, such as the organizer, the attendees, and the Wisconsin Attorney General, underscores the need for the federal government to intervene and act to protect our children from this perverse behavior," the lawmakers said in their letter.

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: U.S. Rep. Tiffany asks Merrick Garland about Madison Naked Bike Ride