The House of Representatives voted on Wednesday to hold Attorney General Merrick Garland in contempt of Congress for refusing to comply with congressional subpoenas. The vote, which cleared easily given the House Republicans’ slim majority, was 216 to 207 after a day of deliberation.
The House Committees on Oversight and Accountability and Judiciary issued subpoenas to Garland on February 27, 2024, for records related to Special Counsel Robert Hur’s investigation into President Joe Biden’s alleged mishandling of classified information. Republicans were particularly interested in obtaining the audio recordings of Hur’s interview with Biden. However, Garland only provided written transcripts, which Republicans deemed insufficient after Hur revealed that Biden experienced mental lapses and “poor memory” during his interview.
Republican Study Committee Chairman Rep. Kevin Hern (R-OK) emphasized the importance of obtaining the audio tapes, stating that the attorney general is not exempt from congressional oversight. Hern pointed out that the White House has a history of editing transcripts to cover up Biden’s embarrassing moments on stage and said that the released transcripts were likely edited as well.
The House vote occurred on the same day that the Biden Department of Justice (DOJ) argued in a memo that Garland would be protected from prosecution for contempt of Congress because Biden had declared executive privilege over the tapes. Biden asserted this executive privilege over the recordings on May 16, 2024, before the Judiciary and Oversight Committees marked up their contempt resolutions.
However, not all Republicans supported holding Garland in contempt. Rep. Dave Joyce (R-OH), a former prosecutor, stated that he could not in good conscience support a resolution that would further politicize the judicial system to score political points. In contrast, Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan (R-OH) maintained that it is up to Congress, not the Executive Branch, to determine what materials they need for their investigations.
The House vote comes as former President Donald Trump ally Steve Bannon fights a judge’s ruling ordering him to report to prison by July 1 to serve his four-month sentence for defying a subpoena from former Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s (D-CA) January 6 committee, which has been disbanded.