On Wednesday afternoon, the United States House of Representatives narrowly voted to hold U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland in contempt of Congress for refusing to hand over audio recordings of special counsel Robert Hur’s interview with Joe Biden.
According to NBC News, “The vote was 216-207, with one Republican, Rep. David Joyce of Ohio, joining all Democrats in voting no. Seven Democrats and one Republican did not vote.”
Breaking: 🚨 The House of Representatives have voted in favor of holding Merrick Garland in contempt of Congress!
— Vince Langman (@LangmanVince) June 12, 2024
Lock him up! pic.twitter.com/KECCHGEGh1
The lone cowardly Republican who sided with the Democrats, Dave Joyce (R-OH), took to X to explain his “nay” vote.
GOP OH Rep Joyce on being the only Republican nay vote on Garland contempt of Congress resolution: As a former prosecutor, I cannot in good conscience support a resolution that would further politicize our judicial system to score political points. The American people expect…
— Chad Pergram (@ChadPergram) June 12, 2024
What happens next?
According to CNN, “House Speaker Mike Johnson will now certify the report to the United States attorney for the District of Columbia.”
“Under law, this certification then requires the US attorney to ‘bring the matter before the grand jury for its action,’ but the Justice Department will also make its own determinations for prosecuting.”
NBC News reported:
At issue was Garland’s failure to hand over audio of special counsel Robert Hur’s interview with President Joe Biden about his handling of classified documents. Republicans had demanded the audio after Hur declined to prosecute Biden, in part, because a jury might sympathize with him as an “elderly man with a poor memory.”
Democrats countered that the full transcript of the Biden interview has already been released to the public, and they sounded warnings that Republicans could manipulate the audio.
Despite the successful contempt vote, it’s largely a political exercise. Biden and his administration have asserted executive privilege in refusing to hand over the audio, all but eliminating the possibility that Garland would be prosecuted for ignoring the subpoenas. It’s also unheard of for Justice Department prosecutors to go after the head of their agency over a contempt issue.
Last month, both the House Judiciary and Oversight committees approved a report recommending that the House hold Garland in contempt for defying congressional subpoenas pertaining to the audio recording.
Will Joe Biden’s Department of Justice now pursue charges against AG Garland, just as they did against Peter Navarro and Steve Bannon?
Very unlikely.
The Justice Department, which is part of Joe Biden’s executive branch and led by the Attorney General himself, will likely take no further action. A similar contempt vote in 2012 against Obama administration Attorney General Eric Holder led to no further actions.
Watch the video below, featuring three minutes of Democrats and their media allies asserting that anyone who defies a lawful Congressional subpoena should face jail time and that “no one is above the law.”
OFFICIAL: The House has now held Merrick Garland in Contempt of Congress.
— Western Lensman (@WesternLensman) June 12, 2024
Here are three minutes of Democrats, Never-Trump Republicans and the media assuring us that defying a congressional subpoena means that you belong in jail and that no one is above the law. pic.twitter.com/LUsFHtNHZW
