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 12 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

What Are Fresno Real Estate Experts Predicting for 2025 and Beyond?

DON'T MISS

First California EV Mandates Hit Automakers This Year. Most Are Not Even Close

DON'T MISS

Fresno County’s New Breeding Ordinance Could Shut Down 50 Operations

DON'T MISS

NATO Leaders Set to Back Trump Defense Spending Goal at Hague Summit

DON'T MISS

Fresno County Wildfire Quickly Contained. How Did They Do It?

DON'T MISS

Lender’s Intervention Halts City of Fresno’s Eviction Attempt at Granite Park

DON'T MISS

Clovis Unified Faces Lawsuit Alleging Years of Neglect and Sexual Abuse at Fancher Creek

DON'T MISS

Suspect in Bombing at California Fertility Clinic Dies in Federal Custody

DON'T MISS

US Airstrikes Failed to Destroy Iran’s Nuclear Sites, Sources Say

DON'T MISS

Stephen Miller Expands Power in Second Trump Term, Defies Legal Limits

DON'T MISS

FTA Unloads on Fresno Unified After Skipping External Search for Chief Academic Officer

DON'T MISS

Fresno Man Dies After Alleyway Attack. Police Investigating

UP NEXT

NATO Leaders Set to Back Trump Defense Spending Goal at Hague Summit

UP NEXT

Fresno County Wildfire Quickly Contained. How Did They Do It?

UP NEXT

Lender’s Intervention Halts City of Fresno’s Eviction Attempt at Granite Park

UP NEXT

Suspect in Bombing at California Fertility Clinic Dies in Federal Custody

UP NEXT

US Airstrikes Failed to Destroy Iran’s Nuclear Sites, Sources Say

UP NEXT

Stephen Miller Expands Power in Second Trump Term, Defies Legal Limits

UP NEXT

Fresno Man Dies After Alleyway Attack. Police Investigating

UP NEXT

Poll: Most Californians Prefer Lower Taxes and Fewer Services, Skeptical of Gov’t Spending

UP NEXT

Suspect Identified in Fresno Parking Lot Murder

UP NEXT

Nasdaq 100 Notches First Record High Close Since February

Lender’s Intervention Halts City of Fresno’s Eviction Attempt at Granite Park

2 hours ago

Clovis Unified Faces Lawsuit Alleging Years of Neglect and Sexual Abuse at Fancher Creek

2 hours ago

Suspect in Bombing at California Fertility Clinic Dies in Federal Custody

2 hours ago

US Airstrikes Failed to Destroy Iran’s Nuclear Sites, Sources Say

2 hours ago

Stephen Miller Expands Power in Second Trump Term, Defies Legal Limits

3 hours ago

FTA Unloads on Fresno Unified After Skipping External Search for Chief Academic Officer

3 hours ago

Fresno Man Dies After Alleyway Attack. Police Investigating

3 hours ago

Poll: Most Californians Prefer Lower Taxes and Fewer Services, Skeptical of Gov’t Spending

3 hours ago

Suspect Identified in Fresno Parking Lot Murder

3 hours ago

Nasdaq 100 Notches First Record High Close Since February

4 hours ago

Fresno County’s New Breeding Ordinance Could Shut Down 50 Operations

Saying they already have a list of 50 known pet breeders, Fresno Humane Animal Services representatives said a new county ordinance will all...

52 minutes ago

52 minutes ago

Fresno County’s New Breeding Ordinance Could Shut Down 50 Operations

President Donald Trump arrives at a dinner for NATO heads of state and governments hosted by Dutch King Willem-Alexander and Dutch Queen Maxima, on the sidelines of a NATO Summit, at Huis ten Bosch Palace in The Hague, Netherlands June 24, 2025. (Reuters/Toby Melville)
1 hour ago

NATO Leaders Set to Back Trump Defense Spending Goal at Hague Summit

A 180-acre wildfire in Cantua Creek was fully contained Tuesday afternoon, with CalFire crediting nearby roads for helping crews quickly stop the Monterey Fire from spreading. (CalFire)
1 hour ago

Fresno County Wildfire Quickly Contained. How Did They Do It?

2 hours ago

Lender’s Intervention Halts City of Fresno’s Eviction Attempt at Granite Park

2 hours ago

Clovis Unified Faces Lawsuit Alleging Years of Neglect and Sexual Abuse at Fancher Creek

California Fertility Clinic Bombing Investigation
2 hours ago

Suspect in Bombing at California Fertility Clinic Dies in Federal Custody

A missile launched from Iran towards Israel is seen from Tubas, amid the Iran-Israel conflict, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, June 24, 2025. REUTERS/Raneen Sawafta
2 hours ago

US Airstrikes Failed to Destroy Iran’s Nuclear Sites, Sources Say

Stephen Miller has emerged as a powerful and controversial force in Trump’s second term, driving aggressive immigration policies and defying legal boundaries while expanding his influence across the administration. (Shutterstock)
3 hours ago

Stephen Miller Expands Power in Second Trump Term, Defies Legal Limits

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend