House Republicans are planning to proceed next week with holding Attorney General Merrick Garland in contempt of Congress for his refusal to provide the unredacted audio of an interview conducted as part of the special counsel probe. The House Judiciary Committee is scheduled to convene on May 16 to advance contempt charges against Garland, according to a person familiar with the matter who spoke anonymously.
The resolution would then be put to a full House vote.
These contempt proceedings mark the latest development in the strained relationship between Republicans and the Justice Department. Last month, House Republicans threatened to hold Garland in contempt for failing to fully comply with a congressional subpoena related to Special Counsel Robert Hur's decision not to charge President Biden with any crimes.
Led by Reps. Jim Jordan of Ohio and James Comer of Kentucky, Republicans had demanded the department turn over audio of Hur's interviews with Biden by early April. However, the Justice Department only provided some records, excluding the audio interview with the president. Republicans cautioned against setting a precedent for future investigations if the audio was not provided.
Assistant Attorney General Carlos Uriarte, the department's head of congressional affairs, suggested in a letter to Jordan and Comer that the committees' interest in these records might not be for legitimate oversight or investigatory purposes but to serve political ends, which should not influence the handling of law enforcement files.
In response, Comer rejected this rationale, stating that the Biden administration does not have the authority to determine what Congress requires for its oversight of the executive branch.
To hold Garland in contempt, a majority in the committee and then the full House would need to support the action before a referral is sent to the Justice Department. If the House votes to hold Garland in contempt, it is unlikely that the Justice Department, overseen by Garland, would prosecute him.
The last time an attorney general was held in contempt was in 2012 when the GOP-controlled House voted to make then-Attorney General Eric Holder the first sitting Cabinet member to be held in contempt of Congress for refusing to provide documents related to the gun-running operation known as Fast and Furious. The Justice Department did not take action against Holder.
The special counsel in Biden's case, Hur, conducted a year-long investigation into the president's improper retention of classified documents from his time as a senator and vice president. The investigation resulted in a 345-page report that raised questions about Biden's age and mental competence but did not recommend criminal charges against the 81-year-old. Hur stated there was insufficient evidence to prosecute a case in court.
In March, Hur reiterated his report's findings in testimony before the Judiciary Committee, where he faced questioning from both Democratic and Republican lawmakers for over four hours.
However, Republicans remain unsatisfied, claiming there is a politically motivated double standard at the Justice Department, which is prosecuting former President Trump over his handling of classified documents after leaving the White House. Notably, there are significant differences between the two probes. Biden's team returned the documents after they were found, and the president cooperated with the investigation by voluntarily participating in an interview and allowing searches of his homes. In contrast, Trump is accused of enlisting aides and lawyers to conceal documents from the government and allegedly attempted to destroy potentially incriminating evidence.