House Republicans, eager to continue a steady stream of criticism of the Biden administration as the 2024 campaign kicks into high gear, are now going after Attorney General Merrick Garland.
On Wednesday, the House is expected to vote to hold Garland in contempt of Congress, a move that follows recent attacks by the GOP. Against the Judiciary. A contempt vote is intended to help the House enforce subpoenas and requests for testimony: By holding someone in contempt, lawmakers are effectively calling them out for failing to comply with congressional demands.
Republicans say that’s why they’re accepting the vote, arguing that Garland is blocking oversight by defying a subpoena to discuss her handling of classified documents about President Joe Biden’s tapes. Holding Garland in contempt allows the House to refer their concerns to prosecutors for further punishment, although that does not mean they will pursue the case. (In a recent citation of Contempt of Congress, The DOJ has advanced several cases while dismissing others.).
For his part, Garland said releasing the recordings could jeopardize future investigations because subjects would hesitate to be candid in conversations with the government for fear of sharing their tapes. He noted that the DOJ has already provided transcripts of these interviews. The White House also exercised executive privilege over these recordings, This means that they believe they need to maintain privacy because sharing content can undermine governance.
Congress is responsible for providing executive oversight and investigating questionable actions by the executive branch. Given that the House already has transcripts of the interviews they requested, however, the effort appears to be about more than getting Biden’s tapes into the public record.
Instead, it appears to be driven by a GOP push to drum up political fodder — and undermine confidence in the White House — especially as their own presidential nominee struggles with myriad legal problems. In the past year, the House has dialed back investigations into the Biden administration, impeaching Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas and threatening to impeach Biden himself.
That’s why the GOP is targeting Garland
At issue is the release of recordings of interviews that Biden had with special counsel Robert Hurr about his mishandling of classified documents. Like former President Donald Trump, Biden is under investigation for storing classified government material in less-secure ways at his private residence. Earlier this year, Hoor recommended against pressing charges.
House Republicans have argued that Hurr’s tapes are crucial to building their ongoing impeachment case against Biden and have called on Garland to release them. Mala refused.
“I view humiliation as a serious matter,” Garland at the June hearing. “But I will not jeopardize the ability of our prosecutors and agents to do their jobs effectively in future investigations.”
House Republicans have been eager to get their hands on the tapes, hoping to use them to emphasize Biden’s age and what some in the GOP have identified as declining mental capacity, issues that have emerged as a weakness in 2024. On a particularly pointed note, Hurr summarized his investigation in his report That Biden would likely come across to a jury as “a compassionate, well-mannered, elderly person with poor memory.”
Because Garland has refused to accede to their request for the tapes, Republicans argue they have grounds to hold him in contempt. By approving this resolution, the GOP then forwards the matter to the DOJ and the US Attorney in DC, who will decide whether it is appropriate for them to pursue the matter further. If they do, and Garland is found guilty of contempt of Congress in court, he could face a fine of between $100 and $100,000 and one to 12 months in prison.
“We assume this is going to end up in court,” Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) told reporters Wednesday. “But we think our case is strong and we think we will prevail.” Justice Department legal advisers believe a criminal case is unlikely to proceed because the White House has exercised executive privilege over the same material, The Hill reported.
In recent years, the DOJ has filed some congressional contempt cases, and dismissed others. it is Decided not to proceed with Quoting Trump Administration Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross and Trump Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, for example, while following Trump advisers Peter Navarro and Steve Bannon. Navarro and Bannon were both ultimately convicted and sentenced to prison.
The Garland contempt vote is the latest in a string of House political stunts
Voting is taking place in continuation of this House GOP political stunt The election campaign is going on in full swing.
Earlier this year, House Republicans impeached Mayorkas, claiming he failed to enforce immigration laws and obstructed congressional investigations. The effort was part of the GOP’s effort to increase focus on migrant crossings at the southern border and emphasize Biden’s weaknesses on the issue. Democrats countered that Mayorkas’ concerns did not reach the brink of impeachment, noting that the DHS secretary herself has provided extensive testimony and documents to Congress.
Similarly, House Republicans have continued their bid to impeach Biden despite no evidence tying him to wrongdoing.
And now, the GOP is continuing both that push and the attack on Garland, as well as conducting other hearings intended to provide political fodder. The House Judiciary Committee will hold a panel featuring testimony from Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, who, for example, handled Trump’s criminal case in New York in July.
All of this is meant to create a narrative that the Biden administration and its officials have abused their power and failed to effectively implement policy. Additionally, the Garland vote fueled long-standing resentment among Republicans Charged against the JudiciaryIncluding claims they make about bias against the GOP.
Collectively, such attacks seek to undermine public trust in both the administration and the DOJ, especially as Republicans seek to hurt Biden and protect Trump.
Mala pushed back against the GOP’s efforts A Washington Post op-ed Protect yourself this week. “We don’t investigate people by their last name, their political affiliation, the size of their bank account, where they’re from, or what they look like,” he wrote. “Continued baseless attacks on employees of the judiciary are dangerous to our democracy. It has to stop.”
