Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
House Denies GOP Bid to Fine Attorney General Garland Over Biden Audio Refusal
gvw_ap_news
By Associated Press
Published 4 months ago on
July 11, 2024

Attorney General Merrick Garland speaks during a news conference at the Department of Justice headquarters in Washington, Thursday, June 27, 2024. The Justice Department has charged nearly 200 people in a sweeping crackdown on health care fraud schemes nationwide with false claims topping $2.7 billion. (AP/Jose Luis Magana)

Share

Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

WASHINGTON — The House on Thursday rejected a GOP effort to fine Attorney General Merrick Garland $10,000 a day until he turns over audio of President Joe Biden’s interview in his classified documents case as a handful of Republicans resisted taking an aggressive step against a sitting Cabinet official.

Even if the resolution, titled inherent contempt, had passed, it was unclear how the fine would be enforced as the dispute over the tape of Biden’s interview with special counsel Robert Hur is now playing out in court.

The House Voted Against Fine

The House voted 204-210, with four Republicans joining all Democrats, to halt a Republican resolution that would have imposed the fine, effectively rebuffing the latest effort by GOP lawmakers to assert its enforcement powers — weeks after Biden asserted executive privilege to block the release of the recording.

House Republican leaders were caught off guard by the failed vote, telling The Associated Press that they expected the effort to pass but that, regardless, they would continue using other tools to obtain the audio recording.

“We expected it to pass, but we’ve been very aggressive on enforcing the subpoena against Merrick Garland and seeking to hold him accountable,” Speaker Mike Johnson said after the vote. “We are using every tool in the arsenal to ensure that he follows the law and that we can complete our constitutional responsibility.”

A spokesperson for Garland said the attorney general was leading a cross-border crime forum and was unavailable for comment.

Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, R-Fla., the resolution’s lead sponsors, said during debate Wednesday that “No one is above the law.”

“This is not a decision that we have reached lightly, but the actions of the attorney general cannot be ignored,” Luna said.

The House Held Garland in Contempt of Congress

The House earlier this year made Garland the third attorney general in U.S. history to be held in contempt of Congress. But the Justice Department said Garland would not be prosecuted, citing the agency’s “longstanding position and uniform practice” to not prosecute officials who don’t comply with subpoenas because of a president’s claim of executive privilege.

Democrats blasted the GOP effort as another political stunt. Rep. Jim McGovern, D-Mass., said that the resolution is unjustified in the case of Garland because he has complied with subpoena.

“Their frustration is that they can’t get their hands on an audio recording that they think they could turn into an RNC attack ad,” McGovern said in reference to the Republican National Committee. “When you start making a mockery of things like inherent contempt you diminish this institution.”

Garland himself has defended the Justice Department, saying officials have gone to extraordinary lengths to provide information to the committees about Hur’s classified documents investigation, including a transcript of Biden’s interview. However, Garland has said releasing the audio could jeopardize future sensitive investigations because witnesses might be less likely to cooperate if they know their interviews might become public.

House Republicans Sued Garland

House Republicans sued Garland earlier this month in an attempt to force the release of the recording.

Republicans have accused Biden of suppressing the recording because he’s afraid to have voters hear it during an election year. The White House and Democratic lawmakers, meanwhile, have slammed Republicans’ motives for pursuing contempt and dismissed their efforts to obtain the audio as purely political.

The congressional inquiry began with the release of Hur’s report in February, which found evidence that Biden willfully retained and shared highly classified information when he was a private citizen. Yet the special counsel concluded that criminal charges were not warranted.

Republicans, incensed by Hur’s decision, issued a subpoena for audio of his interviews with Biden during the spring. But the Justice Department turned over only some of the records, leaving out audio of the interview with the president.

Beyond the bitingly critical assessment of Biden’s handling of sensitive government records, Hur offered unflattering characterizations of the Democratic president’s memory in his report, sparking fresh questions about his competency and age that cut at voters’ most deep-seated concerns about the 81-year-old seeking a second term.

RELATED TOPICS:

DON'T MISS

Republicans Win 218 US House Seats, Giving Donald Trump and the Party Control of Government

DON'T MISS

Fresno State Alum Is New Dean of Health and Human Services College

DON'T MISS

Who Is Rep. Matt Gaetz, the Florida Congressman Donald Trump Picked to Serve as AG?

DON'T MISS

The Key Races to Watch: Nov. 13 Update

DON'T MISS

Feds Agree to Raise San Luis Reservoir: More Water for Farmers, Communities, Wetlands

DON'T MISS

Wired Wednesday: What Impact Does Deportation Have on the Central Valley?

DON'T MISS

How Will Election Winners Bredefeld and Chavez Fit in as Supervisors?

DON'T MISS

California Senate Leader Calls Union ‘Morally Bankrupt’ for Opposing a Vulnerable Democrat

DON'T MISS

R&B Concerts, Comedy, & Worship Take Center Stage This Weekend

DON'T MISS

Speaker Mike Johnson Wins GOP Nomination to Remain in Job, Faces Full House Vote in New Year

UP NEXT

Fresno State Alum Is New Dean of Health and Human Services College

UP NEXT

Who Is Rep. Matt Gaetz, the Florida Congressman Donald Trump Picked to Serve as AG?

UP NEXT

The Key Races to Watch: Nov. 13 Update

UP NEXT

Feds Agree to Raise San Luis Reservoir: More Water for Farmers, Communities, Wetlands

UP NEXT

Wired Wednesday: What Impact Does Deportation Have on the Central Valley?

UP NEXT

How Will Election Winners Bredefeld and Chavez Fit in as Supervisors?

UP NEXT

California Senate Leader Calls Union ‘Morally Bankrupt’ for Opposing a Vulnerable Democrat

UP NEXT

R&B Concerts, Comedy, & Worship Take Center Stage This Weekend

UP NEXT

Speaker Mike Johnson Wins GOP Nomination to Remain in Job, Faces Full House Vote in New Year

UP NEXT

ICE Immediately Moves to Bolster Surveillance of Illegal Immigrants After Trump Win

The Key Races to Watch: Nov. 13 Update

8 hours ago

Feds Agree to Raise San Luis Reservoir: More Water for Farmers, Communities, Wetlands

8 hours ago

Wired Wednesday: What Impact Does Deportation Have on the Central Valley?

8 hours ago

How Will Election Winners Bredefeld and Chavez Fit in as Supervisors?

9 hours ago

California Senate Leader Calls Union ‘Morally Bankrupt’ for Opposing a Vulnerable Democrat

9 hours ago

R&B Concerts, Comedy, & Worship Take Center Stage This Weekend

10 hours ago

Speaker Mike Johnson Wins GOP Nomination to Remain in Job, Faces Full House Vote in New Year

10 hours ago

ICE Immediately Moves to Bolster Surveillance of Illegal Immigrants After Trump Win

10 hours ago

You Can Win a Lexus in This Fresno Telethon Drawing. Get Tickets Now.

11 hours ago

Trump Says He Will Nominate Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida to Be Attorney General

11 hours ago

Republicans Win 218 US House Seats, Giving Donald Trump and the Party Control of Government

WASHINGTON — Republicans have won enough seats to control the U.S. House, completing the party’s sweep into power and securing their hold on...

4 hours ago

4 hours ago

Republicans Win 218 US House Seats, Giving Donald Trump and the Party Control of Government

8 hours ago

Fresno State Alum Is New Dean of Health and Human Services College

Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., speaks at the Republican Party of Florida Freedom Summit, Nov. 4, 2023, in Kissimmee, Fla. (AP File)
8 hours ago

Who Is Rep. Matt Gaetz, the Florida Congressman Donald Trump Picked to Serve as AG?

8 hours ago

The Key Races to Watch: Nov. 13 Update

8 hours ago

Feds Agree to Raise San Luis Reservoir: More Water for Farmers, Communities, Wetlands

Wired Wednesday Cover, 11/13/24, KMPH Screengrab
8 hours ago

Wired Wednesday: What Impact Does Deportation Have on the Central Valley?

9 hours ago

How Will Election Winners Bredefeld and Chavez Fit in as Supervisors?

9 hours ago

California Senate Leader Calls Union ‘Morally Bankrupt’ for Opposing a Vulnerable Democrat

Search

Send this to a friend