Washington — The House is expected to vote Wednesday on putting Attorney General Merrick Garland on hold. in contempt of parliament for allegedly defying a subpoena related to the handling of President Biden’s classified documents.
The Republican-led House Judiciary and Oversight Committees have demanded that President Garland hand over recordings of interviews between him and Special Counsel Robert Huh as part of their impeachment investigation.
Mr. Biden claimed executive privilege Through recorded interviews with President Huh and the ghostwriter of his book while the committee was advancing a contempt resolution against Garland.
A House vote is underway after the committee voted along party lines last May. To encourage contempt for Garland.. It’s unclear whether Republicans have enough support to pass the bill. Republicans can only afford two defections with a slim majority if all members are present and vote. House Minority Leader Steve Scalise, a Louisiana Republican, said he was confident his party had enough votes to get it across the finish line. House Speaker Mike Johnson said Wednesday morning that the bill “is expected to pass the Congress. We look forward to seeing that happen.”
“We must defend the Constitution and we must defend the authority of Parliament,” Johnson said at a press conference on Wednesday. “We have important oversight responsibilities, and that’s what’s being pursued here.”
If passed, the resolution would direct the Speaker of the House to refer the case to the U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia for potential criminal prosecution.
The House Judiciary Committee report argued that audio recordings of the interviews were of “excellent evidentiary value” because the transcripts provided to Congress by the Justice Department “do not reflect important verbal context, such as tone or tenor, or nonverbal context, such as pauses or pace.” of delivery.” It also claims the transcripts are “insufficient to arbitrate this dispute regarding President Biden’s mental state.”
Heo, appointed by Garland, They published a 345-page report. In February, it outlined Biden’s handling of classified documents he had kept since he served as vice president. Mr. Heo refused to file criminal charges, saying there was no evidence beyond a reasonable doubt that candidate Biden violated the law. The special counsel made several observations about the president’s memory that infuriated the White House and provided political leverage for the Republican Party.
The Justice Department has argued that the release of the recordings could discourage witnesses from cooperating in future high-profile investigations.
“I see contempt as a serious problem,” Garland said. said “However, I will not jeopardize the ability of our prosecutors and investigators to do their jobs effectively in future investigations,” he said at a June 4 Judiciary Committee hearing.
Republicans say executive privilege was waived when the Justice Department turned over the transcripts, and they also claim the transcripts were altered.
Democrats called the effort a political act and said the Justice Department cooperated substantially with Republican requests. impeachment inquiryIt was discontinued earlier this year. President’s Son’s TestimonyHunter Biden failed to deliver the smoking gun.
“They want to pore over five hours of taped interviews of President Biden looking for impeachable offenses, because they know at this point no such offenses exist, but linguistic mistakes like mispronounced names. could turn into a political accusation, Rep. Jamie Raskin of Maryland, the top Democrat on the House Oversight Committee, said Tuesday of the TV attack ad during the presidential campaign.
It is not unprecedented for cabinet officials to be detained for contempt of parliament. In 2019, the Democratic-controlled House of Representatives voted to hold Attorney General William Barr and Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross in contempt for ignoring congressional subpoenas related to a dispute over the 2020 census. The Republican-led House voted to hold Attorney General Eric Holder in contempt in 2012 for failing to turn over relevant documents. Fast and Furious Scandal.
—Elise Kim contributed reporting.
