James Lynch writes for National Review Online about the latest bad news for the U.S. attorney general.
House Republicans voted on Wednesday to hold U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland in contempt of Congress after the Justice Department refused to turn over the audio from President Joe Biden’s interview with special counsel Robert Hur.
House lawmakers voted 216–207 on the Garland contempt resolution, with one Republican representative, Dave Joyce of Ohio, joining Democrats in voting against it. Eight members did not vote on the measure.
The House Oversight and Judiciary committees advanced contempt resolutions last month because the Justice Department decided not to comply with a congressional subpoena for the audio.
“It is deeply disappointing that this House of Representatives has turned a serious congressional authority into a partisan weapon. Today’s vote disregards the constitutional separation of powers, the Justice Department’s need to protect its investigations, and the substantial amount of information we have provided to the Committees,” Garland said in a statement.
“I will always stand up for this Department, its employees, and its vital mission to defend our democracy.”
Contempt of Congress is a recommendation that a witness be prosecuted for failing to comply with a subpoena. Congressional investigators can use the threat of contempt to pressure a witness into compliance if they are facing resistance.
The Justice Department is tasked with enforcing contempt citations and recently did so against prominent Trump allies Steve Bannon and Peter Navarro. Failing to comply with a subpoena is a misdemeanor offense and can result in up to a year in jail.
Garland is the third attorney general in American history to be held in contempt and is unlikely to face prosecution from his own department.
“The audio recording is the best evidence of the words that President Biden actually spoke,” Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan (R., Ohio) said ahead of the vote.
