Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-Fla.) is ramping up her efforts to hold Attorney General Merrick Garland in contempt of Congress, now threatening to impose a $10,000 daily fine for refusing to turn over audio tapes of a key Biden interview.
Luna previously filed a resolution to hold Garland in inherent contempt for withholding the tapes. However, she agreed to delay a vote on the resolution after a conversation with Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.).
Luna has now confirmed that she intends to call up the vote next week. Inherent contempt is a rarely-used congressional maneuver that would effectively allow the House to try and convict Garland.
Rep. Anna Paulina Luna Threatens to Force Garland Contempt Vote Again, Adding Fines
Luna filed a new resolution on Friday to both hold Garland in inherent contempt and fine him for the tapes. She is expected to declare the measure "privileged" when the House is back in session on July 8.
Deeming a resolution "privileged" forces the House to take it up within two legislative days. Fox News Digital has reached out to Johnson's office for further comment.
Rep. Anna Paulina Luna Threatens to Force Garland Contempt Vote Again, Adding Fines
Luna's move comes after Biden's disastrous debate performance against former President Trump on CNN last Thursday. The 81-year-old president spoke with a hoarse voice, reportedly due to a cold, and stumbled over his own answers several times during the primetime event.
Viewers also observed him appearing tired and noticeably less sharp than he looked the last time he faced Trump in 2020. It's prompted new pushback from Republicans and even fear among some Democrats that Biden may not be fit for another four years in the White House.
Rep. Anna Paulina Luna Threatens to Force Garland Contempt Vote Again, Adding Fines
House Republicans, some of whom long held that Biden is not mentally fit for office, voted to hold Garland in contempt of Congress last month for his refusal to turn over audio tapes of Hur's interview with Biden on his handling of classified documents.
The Department of Justice (DOJ) has refused to prosecute, citing Biden's decision to call executive privilege over the tapes. Biden's counter is that the full transcript is already available – he has bashed the GOP effort as nakedly partisan.
But Republicans argue that the tapes would provide necessary context about Biden's mental acuity that could not be gleaned from the transcript. The House GOP also sued Garland on Monday in order to obtain the tapes, with the lawsuit being led by House Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan (R-Ohio).
Fox News Digital was first to report that Luna informed colleagues last week that she intends to force a vote on holding Garland in inherent contempt.
The little-known maneuver, not used since the 1930s, would direct the House sergeant-at-arms to detain Garland for a House-led trial. It's never been invoked on a Cabinet official, but the Supreme Court upheld Congress' ability to use it in 1935.
