Republicans are preparing to hold US Attorney General Merrick Garland in contempt of Congress for refusing to cooperate with a congressional subpoena.
On Monday, the GOP-led House Judiciary Committee released a report recommending that the House of Representatives hold Garland in contempt for refusing to turn over audio files from special counsel Robert Hur’s interview with Joe Biden.
The House Oversight and Judiciary Committees will meet on Thursday morning to consider a resolution to hold Garland in contempt of Congress.
“The House Oversight and Judiciary Committees issued lawful subpoenas to Attorney General Garland for the audio recordings of President Biden’s interview with Special Counsel Hur, yet he continues to defy our subpoenas,” House Oversight Chairman James Comer said in a statement Monday. “These audio recordings are important to our investigation of President Biden’s willful retention of classified documents and his fitness to be President of the United States.”
🚨 #BREAKING: @Jim_Jordan Releases Report Recommending that the House of Representatives Cite AG Merrick Garland for Contempt of Congress
— House Judiciary GOP (@JudiciaryGOP) May 13, 2024
Read here: https://t.co/3em14Dby4e
Washington Examiner reported:
The House Oversight Committee is considering moving to hold Attorney General Merrick Garland in contempt of Congress.
Garland refused to provide audio files of Special Counsel Robert Hur’s interview with President Joe Biden despite a subpoena from the committee. In response, House Oversight Chairman James Comer (R-KY) is moving to hold him in contempt of Congress.
“The House Oversight and Judiciary Committees issued lawful subpoenas to Attorney General Garland for the audio recordings of President Biden’s interview with Special Counsel Hur, yet he continues to defy our subpoenas,” Comer wrote.
“These audio recordings are important to our investigation of President Biden’s willful retention of classified documents and his fitness to be President of the United States,” he added. “There must be consequences for refusing to comply with lawful congressional subpoenas and we will move to hold Attorney General Garland in contempt of Congress.”
The markup for the resolution to hold Garland in contempt of court will be held at 11 a.m. Thursday. The Washington Examiner previously exclusively reported that the House Judiciary Committee was aiming to hold Garland in contempt of Congress.
House Oversight Chairman James Comer previously released a statement after the DOJ rejected his committee’s request for the audio recordings.
“The Biden Administration does not get to determine what Congress needs and does not need for its oversight of the executive branch,” stated Comer. “The American people deserve to hear the actual audio of President Biden’s answers to Special Counsel Hur.”
According to Robert Hur’s 345-page report, Joe Biden couldn’t remember when he was vice president or when his son Beau died.
Additionally, Robert Hur stated in his report that Biden “willfully retained and disclosed classified materials after his vice presidency when he was a private citizen.”
“He knew he kept classified information in notebooks stored in his house and he knew he was not allowed to do so,” Hur stated.
Despite this acknowledgement, Hur decided not to prosecute Joe Biden, citing his advanced age and poor memory as factors influencing the decision.
“We have also considered that, at trial, Mr. Biden would likely present himself to a jury, as he did during our interview of him, as a sympathetic, well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory,” the report stated.
I just introduced a resolution to hold Merrick Garland in inherent contempt of Congress. Our founding fathers would not have been pleased with how things are run in Washington, and I am taking steps to change that. We do not need a contempt hearing that will die at the DOJ. If… pic.twitter.com/P6ZNgYMxZI
— Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (@RepLuna) May 7, 2024
