The House Rules Committee will consider a resolution to hold U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland in contempt of Congress next week, potentially leading to a full House vote on the matter. A vote of contempt has been imminent since last month when two committees sent a resolution to criticize the AG.
As part of the impeachment investigation into President Biden, House Republicans are demanding the audio recording of Biden’s interview with special counsel Robert Hur, who is investigating Biden’s mishandling of classified documents. Despite Biden admitting to mishandling classified documents, Hur decided not to charge him, citing the likelihood that a jury would perceive Biden as old and forgetful.
The Biden Administration has invoked executive privilege to refuse to hand over the audio. Additionally, Biden’s team admitted to editing the interview transcripts provided to lawmakers to make the president appear more coherent.
Garland has refused to hand over the audio, stating that transcripts of the interview show that nothing relating to the House impeachment inquiry was discussed. “I view contempt as a serious matter. But I will not jeopardize the ability of our prosecutors and agents to do their jobs effectively in future investigations,” he said while testifying before the House Judiciary Committee earlier this week.
Whether Garland will be held in contempt remains up in the air for now. According to a report from The Hill, at least two Republicans have privately stated that they plan to vote against the measure on Tuesday. If the resolution passes out of the Rules Committee, it will go to the full House floor for a vote.
As for whether Garland would actually face contempt charges, that seems unlikely since the referral would go to his office. Still, Republicans will have done their due diligence and then it would be up to Biden to explain his inaction and double standard.
In May, House Oversight Chairman James Comer (R-KY) and Jordan (R-OH) sent a letter to Garland. The letter indicated that they were giving him an extra 10 days to fully comply with their February subpoenas. If he fails to comply, he could then face contempt of Congress proceedings. “Your response to the subpoenas remains inadequate, suggesting that you are withholding records for partisan purposes and to avoid political embarrassment for President Biden,” the pair wrote, according to a copy of the April 15 letter obtained by The Daily Caller.
The lawmakers cautioned that they would be left with “no choice but to invoke contempt of Congress proceedings” unless they were provided with the audio recordings of Hur’s interview with Biden and the special counsel’s interview with Biden’s ghostwriter, Mark Zwonitzer. “To avoid this, the Committees expect you to produce all responsive materials no later than 12:00 p.m. on April 25, 2024,” Comer and Jordan noted further.
Previously, both chairmen had set a deadline of April 8 along with a warning that their committees would “consider taking further action, such as the invocation of contempt of Congress proceedings” without full compliance.
Disclaimer: This article may contain commentary which reflects the author’s opinion.