The US House of Representatives on Wednesday voted to hold US Attorney General Merrick Garland in contempt of Congress for refusing to turn over audio of US President Joe Biden’s interview in his classified documents case.
The 216-207 vote fell mostly along party lines, with only one Republican voting against it.
“It is deeply disappointing that this House of Representatives has turned a serious congressional authority into a partisan weapon,” Garland said in a statement late on Wednesday. “Today’s vote disregards the constitutional separation of powers, the [US] Justice Department’s need to protect its investigations, and the substantial amount of information we have provided to the committees.”
Photo: AFP
“I will always stand up for this department, its employees and its vital mission to defend our democracy,” he said.
Garland is now the third US attorney general to be held in contempt of Congress. Yet it is unlikely that the US Department of Justice — which Garland oversees — will prosecute him.
House Speaker Mike Johnson defended the decision to push ahead with the effort.
“Look, we did our job on the contempt, and I think it sends an important message,” Johnson said following the vote. “We’ll see what happens next, but, I mean, the House has to do its work and I’m pleased with the outcome today.”
Garland has defended his department, saying officials have gone to extraordinary lengths to provide information about Special Counsel Robert Hur’s classified documents investigation, including a transcript of Biden’s interview with him.
Republicans sent a subpoena for audio of Hur’s interviews with Biden, but the department only turned over some of the records, leaving out audio of the interview with the president.
On the last day to comply with the subpoena for the audio, the White House blocked the release by invoking executive privilege.
It said that Republicans in Congress only wanted the recordings “to chop them up” and use them for political purposes.
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