Florida rep vows to push Congress to vote on whether to arrest AG Garland over Biden’s special counsel tapes
A House member vowed Monday to push Congress to vote on whether to arrest US Attorney General Merrick Garland for refusing to fork over tapes of President Biden’s interview with special counsel Robert Hur.
Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-Fla.) informed her colleagues that she will call for a vote on a rarely used “inherent contempt” resolution in “the next few days” over Garland’s handling of the tapes, which Republicans say could shed crucial light on Biden’s mental state.
“For Congress to legislate effectively, we must have access to the information that will enable us to make informed decisions,” she wrote in a missive. “When Congress is denied this crucial information, we are left to navigate complex issues in the dark.”
Earlier this month, Congress voted 216-207 to hold Garland in contempt for his refusal to furnish the tapes.
Typically, contempt of Congress is punishable by fines of up to around $100,000 and jail time of about a year. But the Justice Department, which is tasked with enforcing that, announced it wouldn’t prosecute its leader.
“While that response was expected, it set a dangerous precedent,” Luna wrote. “The executive branch will continue to withhold information from Congress if there are no consequences.”
At issue are GOP efforts to get their hands on audio of Hur’s interviews during his probe of Biden’s handling of classified information. Hur ultimately declined to pursue charges against the president.
Hur argued that any such case against Biden would likely be doomed because a jury would probably perceive the president as a “sympathetic, well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory.”
The Justice Department turned over transcripts of the interviews but spurned House Republican subpoenas issued in February for audio of the over five hours of questioning of the president, citing executive privilege and concerns that such a disclosure could imperil cooperation in the future.
Republicans have argued that the tapes could provide important context that the transcripts lack and give key insights into Biden’s fitness for office.
Garland previously contended publicly that the DOJ went to “extraordinary lengths to ensure that the committees get responses to their legitimate requests, but this is not one.
“To the contrary, this is one that would harm our ability in the future to successfully pursue sensitive investigations,” he said.
“Inherent contempt” is distinct from contempt of Congress in that it takes enforcement into its own hands rather than relying on the DOJ.
Such a resolution has rarely been deployed, having last been used in 1934 to target a Commerce Department official named William MacCracken who declined to cooperate. The US Supreme Court backed up Congress’ authority at the time.
Before that, the move was only rarely used in the 1800s and late 1700s. “Inherent contempt” has never been deployed against a sitting cabinet member.
Under Luna’s resolution, the House sergeant-at-arms would be directed to bring “Garland to the House for questioning and compel him to produce the requested evidence.”
“This is a broad power that courts have recognized as necessary for Congress to fulfill its legislative functions,” Luna wrote. “Under inherent contempt, the individual is brought before the bar of the House by the Sergeant at Arms, tried by the body, and can then be detained either in the Capitol or in DC.”
Democrats are widely expected to attempt to scuttle the resolution, and it remains unclear how much Republican support Luna will garner.
Two former members of the Trump administration — White House chief strategist Steve Bannon and trade adviser Peter Navarro — were charged with contempt of Congress for flouting a subpoena. Both similarly attempted to invoke executive privilege but were slapped down in the courts.
Navarro is serving a four-month prison sentence, and Bannon is fighting to avoid jail time.
The DOJ did not return a request for comment from The Post.
