WASHINGTON — The House of Representatives is set to vote to hold Attorney General Merrick Garland in contempt for refusing to hand over audio of the interview with President Joe Biden in the case of possession of classified documents.
The statement is the strongest action by Republicans in the Lower House against the Department of Justice and against Garland, in the context of an extraordinary conflict over the application of the law during the electoral campaign.
Republicans have vehemently denounced the criminal cases against former President Donald Trump, their presumptive presidential candidate, while offering broad assertions against what they see as corruption in President Biden’s administration and the Biden family.
The Justice Department’s favoritism toward the left and far left is increasingly evident in current policy under the Democratic administration.
Republicans demand recording of special prosecutor
But despite the strong denunciations of the Republicans for what they have described as “two level justice”there is uncertainty about whether House Speaker Mike Johnson will get enough support for the motion to pass.
Republicans have a slim majority in the House for what is required in congressional votes for cases like this, meaning any resolution that lacks Democratic support — such as contempt — can fail.
Conservatives were outraged when special counsel Robert Hur refused to prosecute Biden for his illegal driving of classified documents and quickly launched an investigation.
Republican lawmakers — led by Reps. Jim Jordan and James Comer — sent a subpoena for audio of Hur’s interviews with Biden in the spring. The Department of Justice handed over some documents, but refused to hand over the audio of the interview with the president.
Declaration of disobedience
If the motion to convict Garland is successful, he will be the third attorney general to be declared in contempt of Congress in American history.
But the Justice Department — of which Garland is in charge — is unlikely to prosecute him. The White House’s decision to invoke executive privilege over the audio, preventing its release to Congress, makes it extremely difficult to bring a criminal case against Garland. And of course, Garland was appointed by Joe Biden.
The White House has criticized Republicans, predictably, for trying to hold Garland in contempt, and has dismissed efforts to obtain the audio.
Garland has defended the Justice Department and said officials have gone to great lengths to provide information to legislative committees about the Hur investigation, including the transcript of the interview with Biden.
Source: With information from AP.
