Rep. Anna Paulina Luna warned this week that U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland will face a rarely-used House procedure in order to hold him responsible for ignoring a lawful subpoena from Congress for information related to President Joe Biden. House members have been attempting to secure the full audio from former special counsel Robert Hur’s interview with Biden during the course of his classified documents investigation. The GOP has sought the files after Hur determined that Biden broke the law but that he should not be prosecuted because of his diminished mental capacity.
Also, House Republicans note that the White House edited the transcripts of the interviews between Biden and Hur in order to make the president look less feeble, according to reports.
In a statement, Luna explained the little-used procedure: “The vote for inherent contempt against Attorney General Merrick Garland will be brought to the floor this upcoming session week with full support from Speaker Mike Johnson. This version of inherent contempt will become standard practice for those who seek to undermine Congress as an equal branch of government.”
She continued: “It is with great honor and privilege that my colleagues helped us all accomplish this and restore balance to the branches of government.” She thanked Johnson along with Reps. Rich McCormick, Mark Alford, Harriet Hageman, Dan Crenshaw, Max Miller, Russel Fry, Derrick Van Orden, Ben Cline, and Tim Burchett.
“Garland needs to answer for his blatant disrespect for Congress and the rule of law. This inherent contempt has the full backing of the Speaker of the House. Our Founding Fathers would not have tolerated the behavior exhibited by the attorney general, the Department of Justice, and the president of the United States,” she went on. “This tool was established knowing that one day, Congress might need to check the other branches of government.”
In an interview on the Fox Business Network, Luna also addressed the recordings: “My question to the American people and reporters is: what is on those tapes that Garland is willing to risk becoming a criminal by defying two congressional subpoenas?”
Luna escalated her campaign by issuing an ultimatum to Garland last week, insisting on compliance with a subpoena from the House Oversight Committee. On Wednesday, she warned that failure to comply would prompt a vote on an “inherent contempt” measure, a powerful but seldom-used tool at Congress’s disposal.
“We are here today because of the double standard that exists within the justice system,” Luna said during today’s press briefing. “On February 27th, the Oversight Committee, as well as the House Judiciary, had sent a subpoena to Attorney General Garland, to which we received no response. And after referring him for criminal contempt, within 48 hours or less, the Department of Justice refused to prosecute.”
The inherent contempt process, which was first utilized in 1795 and confirmed by the Supreme Court in 1927, grants Congress the authority to enforce its subpoenas through its own means, potentially permitting the detention of those who defy them. Although this measure has not been employed in nearly a century, Luna appeared ready to revive this long-dormant power.
“Why should the Attorney General, who is supposed to be head of all law enforcement authorities, be any different?” Luna asked. “Garland still has time to comply with this request. We are asking that he bring the tapes to the House and let us listen to them. But in the event that he does not, we will press forward with calling the privilege motion on inherent contempt to the floor on Friday morning.”
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