Justice Department says it won’t prosecute Merrick Garland after House contempt vote

Washington – The Justice Department said Friday it will not prosecute Attorney General Merrick Garland after the House voted to insult him For the audio tapes of the subpoenas against Congress, President Biden’s interview with special counsel Robert Hurr.

Assistant Attorney General Carlos Uriarte told House Speaker Mike Johnson in a letter that the Justice Department’s longstanding policy is not to file contempt charges against an official who refuses to hand over information subpoenaed by the president under executive privilege.

Mr. Biden invoked executive privilege over audio tapes of interviews with Hur, as well as his ghostwriter interview, and ordered Garland not to release the materials sought by the Judiciary and the Oversight and Accountability Committees. Republicans on the panel sought the records as part of the president’s impeachment inquiry.

“Consistent with this long-standing position and uniform practice, the Department has determined that Attorney General Garland’s responses to subpoenas by the Committees do not constitute a crime, and therefore the Department will not submit a contempt of Congress citation to a grand jury. take any other action for prosecution by the Attorney General,” wrote Uriarte, who heads the Justice Department’s legislative office.

Attorney General Merrick Garland delivers remarks at the Department of Justice on May 14, 2024 in Washington, DC.

Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images


On Wednesday, the House voted 216-207 to impeach Garland, escalating a battle over records stemming from the Hurry investigation. Processing of classified documents by the President. The special counsel concluded that Mr. Biden’s prosecution for mishandling the records was unwarranted, but found that the president “willfully withheld and disclosed” classified materials after his vice presidency.

Hour’s report, released in February, criticized the president’s memory, saying Mr. Biden could present himself to jurors as “a likable, well-mannered, elderly man with a bad memory.” The special prosecutor said the president was confused about the timeline of events and was struggling to remember certain dates.

of Mr. Biden Interview with Hur It lasted five hours, and the president gave written answers to the special prosecutor’s questions.

The Judiciary and Oversight Committees subpoenaed audio tapes and other materials, including interview transcripts, after Hurr released his report. The Justice Department released a transcript of Hour’s interview with Mr. Biden, as well as prosecutors’ interview with his ghostwriter, Mark Zwonitzer, but Rejected requests in April for audio files.

Shortly before two committees of House members considered the congressional resolution against Garland, the Justice Department told the panel’s leaders that Mr. Biden had asserted executive privilege over the records they sought at the department’s recommendation.

At the time, Uriarte told Republican lawmakers that the Justice Department had a “responsibility to protect the confidentiality of law enforcement files where disclosure would jeopardize a future investigation” and said the attorney general must protect the department from “improper political influence.”

A pair of House committees Promoted aversion solutions in a separate vote last month, followed by a full House vote this week.

In a letter to Johnson explaining that the department would not take action against Garland, Uriarte said the Justice Department had argued during administrations of both parties that contempt of congressional statutes could not be used against an executive branch official who asserts the president’s claim. Executive privilege.

He noted that in 2008, the department declined to prosecute former President George W. Bush, Harriet Myers and Joshua Bolton after they were abusive to Congress, then led by the speaker. Nancy Pelosi.

The department did the same in 2012 after then-President Barack Obama asserted executive privilege over documents requested by the Oversight Committee about the failed “Fast and Furious” gun-running operation, Uriarte said. The Attorney General at that time was Eric Holder Held in contempt of Congress For refusing to comply with the Board’s statement.

Most recently, in 2019, the Justice Department declined to prosecute then-Attorney General Bill Barr and Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross after President Donald Trump asserted executive privilege over records to add a citizenship question to the 2020 census. Both were employees of the cabinet Held in contempt of Congress.

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