In yet more embarrassing news for the Biden Administration, particularly after the embarrassment of Hunter Biden’s guilty verdict, the House of Representatives has impeached Biden Administration Attorney General Merrick Garland in contempt of Congress and referred him to the Department of Justice for criminal prosecution.
The reason for the contempt of Congress proceeding is that AG Garland has refused to hand over tapes of President Biden’s interview with Special Counsel Robert Hur. Hur, as background, found that President Biden should not be charged over his handling of classified information in part because his age and decayed mental state made it hard to say he had the necessary state of mind for the crime.
Hur concluded, “We have also considered that, at trial, Mr. Biden would likely present himself to a jury, as he did during our interview of him, as a sympathetic, well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory . . . It would be difficult to convince a jury that they should convict him—by then a former president well into his eighties of a serious felony that requires a mental state of willfulness.”
So, why the GOP would want the tapes of that interview in which President Biden apparently had numerous faults of memory is quite clear, and why AG Garland and the rest of the Biden Administration would want to keep those tapes out of the hands of the GOP as the election heats up and more and more questions about Biden’s mental health surface is equally clear.
AG Garland then refused to hand over the tapes despite the House’s demands for it, leading to the contempt of Congress proceeding. That vote passed on Wednesday, June 12, in a 216 to 207 vote. Speaker of the House Mike Johnson called the vote “a significant step in maintaining the integrity of our oversight processes and responsibilities.”
Continuing, he argued that Congress, in the proceeding, had taken a step to reclaim some power from the Executive Branch, saying, “It is up to Congress – not the Executive Branch – to determine what materials it needs to conduct its own investigations, and there are consequences for refusing to comply with lawful Congressional subpoenas.”
The only Republican to vote against the measure, Rep. David Joyce of Ohio, said, “As a former prosecutor, I cannot in good conscience support a resolution that would further politicize our judicial system to score political points. The American people expect Congress to work for them, solve policy problems, and prioritize good governance. Enough is enough.”
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AG Garland clutched his pearls as well, saying, “It is deeply disappointing that this House of Representatives has turned a serious congressional authority into a partisan weapon. Today’s vote disregards the constitutional separation of powers, the Justice Department’s need to protect its investigations, and the substantial amount of information we have provided to the Committees.” He added, “I will always stand up for this Department, its employees, and its vital mission to defend our democracy.”
Watch Speaker Mike Johnson speak about the reason for the contempt proceeding in a press conference here: