WASHINGTON — In the latest attempt by the U.S. House of Representatives to obtain audio recordings of the U.S. Justice Department special counsel’s interview with President Joe Biden, the U.S. House of Representatives on Thursday rejected a request from Florida Republicans Rep. Anna Paulina Lunaresolution to impose a fine on Attorney General Merrick Garland for stopping them.
This measure — which was rejected 204-210 — he would have a daily fine of $10,000 was imposed against Garland under the House of Representatives’ rarely used “inherent contempt of court” power unless he complies with a subpoena for tapes of an interview between special counsel Robert K. Hur and Biden about his handling of secret documents.
Four Republicans voted against Luna’s measure, including California Reps. John Duarte and Tom McClintock, and Ohio Reps. David Joyce and Mike Turner.
The resolution is part of a broader effort by Republicans to secure the audio recording — an effort that has intensified since Biden’s decision disastrous performance in the debate two weeks ago.
During a plenary debate Wednesday, Luna framed the initiative as a way to hold Garland accountable to the legislature.
“Because Attorney General Garland and the Department of Justice refuse to uphold the law, we have no choice but to rely on the inherent contempt rule,” she said.
Meanwhile, Rep. Jim McGovern, a Massachusetts Democrat, on Wednesday called the decision “stupid” and said Republican Party leaders have not expressed much support for it.
“The Republican leadership knows it’s a stupid resolution,” he said. “Their own members know it’s a stupid resolution, but they’re beholden to the craziest MAGA members in their conference. So that’s what we get: stupid resolutions on the floor because they’re too cowardly to stand up to extremism in their own party.”
The debate was delayed for more than 20 minutes after Virginia Republican Morgan Griffith asked for McGovern’s remarks to be removed. After a break, McGovern acknowledged that his remarks had been removed and did not utilize the word “stupid” later in his speech.
“I call for a ‘no’ vote on this – I have to withdraw that now – on this resolution,” he said.
The Justice Department declined to comment on Luna’s efforts. Wednesday.
Republican Party Leadership
Former President Donald J. Trump, the presumptive Republican Party presidential nominee, has spoken out Social truth on Wednesday to show their support for Luna’s efforts.
“I AGREE with Anna Paulina Luna and many members of the House of Representatives who believe Merrick Garland should be held in CONTEST for refusing to release the Biden tapes despite being subpoenaed!” Trump wrote.
U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson expressed some skepticism about Luna’s decision, saying at a Tuesday news conference that “as a former constitutional lawyer, I prefer to follow the legal process, the legal proceedings that protect the institution.”
Johnson, R-Louisiana, said he would rather focus on the civil lawsuit filed by Republicans on the House Judiciary Committee, but added that if Luna’s bill were to come before the House, he would vote for it.
“I would have preferred to do it the way we did it in our current process, but we’ll let things play out as they go,” Johnson said, adding that “any member has the right to make a privileged motion like this, and Anna is very committed to that principle, and so am I. We all are. I think every Republican is.”
Luna’s decision also meant withdrawing from her previous effort was filed in May and called on the House sergeant-at-arms to detain Garland.
Historically, Congress has avoided lengthy and burdensome utilize of the contempt of court penalty — which has not been used in either chamber since the 1930s — raising questions about how the House of Representatives might actually enforce the fine.
Republicans push for tapes
Garland has come under repeated attack from House Republicans who have tried to obtain the audio recordings.
Last month, House Republicans voted to find Garland guilty of contempt of Congress after agreeing with Biden’s claim that he had executive privilege to access the recordings.
Garland too he is facing a civil lawsuit filed last week by the House Judiciary Committee in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, which seeks to overturn Biden’s claim of respect for executive privilege.
House Republicans are still demanding the release of the audio recording, even though the Justice Department has released the transcript of Hur and Biden’s interview to the House Judiciary Committee and the House Oversight and Accountability Committee.
Garland asked Hur to investigate Biden’s handling of classified documents as early as January 2023. Hur, a federal prosecutor in the Trump administration, he wrote in the report that Biden “knowingly retained and disclosed classified materials after the end of his vice presidency while he was a private citizen.”
But Hur declined to prosecute the president, noting that “at trial, Mr. Biden would likely portray himself to the jury, as he did in our interview, as a likeable, well-meaning, older man with a poor memory.” The octogenarian has vehemently rejected characterizations of his memory.
