The House Oversight and Judiciary Committees will consider a resolution Thursday to hold Attorney General Merrick Garland in contempt of Congress over his failure to produce the subpoenaed audio recording of President Biden's interview with Special Counsel Robert Hur during his classified records probe.
The House Oversight and Judiciary Committees will consider a resolution Thursday to hold Attorney General Merrick Garland in contempt of Congress over his failure to produce the subpoenaed audio recording of President Biden's interview with Special Counsel Robert Hur during his classified records probe.
House Oversight Committee Chair James Comer, R-Ky., and House Judiciary Committee Chair Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, had previously threatened to hold Garland in contempt of Congress over the Justice Department's failure to produce the audio recordings.
Each committee will meet Thursday at 11:00 a.m. on Capitol Hill.
The Justice Department last month reminded the committees that it had produced a transcript of Biden's interview with the special counsel and said it would not turn over the audio recording of that interview.
Comer said Monday that Garland "has refused to provide the audio files of President Biden's interview with the Special Counsel."
"The House Oversight and Judiciary Committees issued lawful subpoenas to Attorney General Garland for the audio recordings of President Biden's interview with Special Counsel Hur, yet he continues to defy our subpoenas," Comer said in a statement Monday. "These audio recordings are important to our investigation of President Biden's willful retention of classified documents and his fitness to be President of the United States."
Comer added: "There must be consequences for refusing to comply with lawful congressional subpoenas and we will move to hold Attorney General Garland in contempt of Congress."
Hur, who released his report to the public in February after months of investigation, did not recommend criminal charges against Biden for mishandling and retaining classified documents, and he stated that he would not bring charges against Biden even if he were not in the Oval Office.
Those records included classified documents about military and foreign policy in Afghanistan and other countries, among other records related to national security and foreign policy, which Hur said implicated "sensitive intelligence sources and methods."
Hur, in his report, described Biden as a "sympathetic, well-meaning elderly man with a poor memory" — a description that has raised significant concerns for Biden's 2024 reelection campaign.
Republicans initially subpoenaed Garland for the audio recording in March and set a deadline to turn it over by April 8.
The Justice Department has argued that the audio recording is protected by executive privilege and that releasing it could set a precedent for releasing audio recordings of other presidential interviews with special counsels.
The House Oversight and Judiciary Committees are expected to vote on the contempt resolution on Thursday. If the resolution is passed, it will be sent to the full House for a vote.
If the full House votes to hold Garland in contempt, it would be a significant escalation in the conflict between the Biden administration and the Republican-controlled House.
It is unclear whether the House would have the authority to enforce a contempt citation against Garland. The Justice Department has not indicated whether it would comply with a contempt citation if it is issued.
