[[{“value”:”After the House of Representatives voted against holding Attorney General Merrick Garland in contempt of Congress, the Department of Justice will never pursue him.
Only IN: House Votes Will Protest Protests Holding Attorney General Merrick Garland In Contempt of Congress
Garland obfied requests from House Judiciary and Regulation committees to turn over audio recordings of Biden’s conversation with special counsel Robert Hur.
BREAKING: Justice Department wo n’t prosecute Garland for contempt, says refusal to provide audio was n’t crime- AP
— Breaking911 ( @Breaking911 ) June 14, 2024
Per CBS News:
In a letter to House Speaker Mike Johnson, Assistant Attorney General Carlos Uriarte stated that it is the Justice Department’s longstanding policy not to file contempt charges against an official who refused to turn over ordered information in violation of a president’s assertion of executive privilege.
Mr. Biden directed Garland to refrain from disclosing the information requested by the House Judiciary, Oversight, and Accountability Committees, and addressed executive privilege over the audiotapes of his conversations with Hur. Republicans on the panel requested the recordings as part of their investigation into the president’s impeachment.
According to Uriarte, the head of the Justice Department’s Office of Legislative Affairs,” the Department has determined that the responses by Attorney General Garland to the subpoenas issued by the Committees did not constitute a crime,” according to Uriarte, who leads the Justice Department’s Office of Legislative Affairs.
Just in case of contempt of Congress, the DOJ wo n’t prosecute AG Merrick Garland for disclosing the audio of Biden’s interview with Special Counsel Robert Hur. pic. twitter.com/VkHJZ48fMC
— The Calvin Coolidge Project (@TheCalvinCooli1 ) June 14, 2024
As Speaker, I will certify the contempt reports to the District of Columbia’s U.S. Attorney because the House disagrees with the claims made in the letter from the Department of Justice. We will also attempt to quake Attorney General Garland’s subpoena in federal court,” said House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA ).
” It is sadly predictable that the Justice Department under the Biden administration wo n’t prosecute Garland for breaking the law, despite the fact that Steve Bannon and Peter Navarro were both prosecuted for the same crime. This is yet another example of the two- layered system of justice brought to us by the Biden Administration”, he added.
As Speaker, I will be certifying the contempt reports to the U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia because the House disagrees with the claims made in the letter from the Department of Justice. We will also move to enforce the subpoena of Attorney General Garland in federal … https ://t.co/YOzqzlKWtE
— Speaker Mike Johnson ( @SpeakerJohnson ) June 14, 2024
CNN reports:
Democratic lawmakers have argued that having access to the tapes would give more details, greater transparency, and oversight of the US president’s investigation.
On Wednesday, every Republican in the House except one – Rep. Dave Joyce of Ohio – voted to hold Garland in contempt of Congress.
The Justice Department has defended its decision to not turn over the stereo recordings of Biden’s conversations with Hur and his team, asserting that it did so to protect both these and upcoming investigations, but it did publish the transcripts of those conversations.
In describing the interviews, Hur said that Biden presented himself” as a compassionate, properly- meaning, old man with a poor memory”.
At the time, Biden ridiculed Hur’s report and questions about his memory.
In a press conference held after the report, Biden stated that their task was to decide whether to proceed with the charges in this case. Hur did not proceed with the charges. ” For any extraneous commentary they do n’t know what they’re talking about. It has never place in this report”.”}]] [[{“value”:”
The Department of Justice won’t prosecute Attorney-General Merrick Garland, after the House of Representatives decided to hold him in contempt of Congress.
Just in: House votes to hold Attorney General Merrick G Garland in contempt of Congress
Garland refused to comply with subpoenas issued by the House Judiciary and Oversight Committees, which demanded that he hand over audio recordings of Biden’s meeting with Robert Hur.
BREAKING: Justice Department will not prosecute Garland for refusing to provide audio – AP
— Breaking911 (@Breaking911) June 14, 2024
CBS News:
Carlos Uriarte told House Speaker Mike Johnson, in a letter, that the Justice Department has a long-standing policy of not bringing contempt charges against a person who refuses to provide information subpoenaed by a president if he asserts executive privilege.
Mr. Biden invoked the executive privilege in regard to the audiotapes he made of his interview with Hur and an interview conducted by his ghostwriter. He also instructed Garland to not release the materials requested by the House Judiciary and Oversight and Accountability Committees. The Republicans on the committee had requested the recordings as part their impeachment investigation into the president.
“Consistently with this longstanding and uniform practice, The Department has determined that the responses provided by Attorney General Garland in response to the subpoenas by the Committees do not constitute a criminal offense, and therefore the Department will neither bring the congressional contempt charge before a grand juror nor take any other actions to prosecute the attorney general,” Uriarte wrote, who is the head of the Justice Department’s Office of Legislative Affairs.
Just in: DOJ won’t prosecute AG Merrick G. Garland for contempt for refusing to provide audio of Biden’s interview Special Counsel Robert Hur. pic.twitter.com/VkHJZ48fMC
The Calvin Coolidge Project @TheCalvinCooli1 June 14, 2024
“The House disagrees” with the claims in the letter of the Department of Justice. As Speaker, I will certify the contempt reports for the U.S. attorney of the District of Columbia. We will also enforce the subpoena issued to Attorney General Garland before federal court,” said House Speaker Mike Johnson (R, LA).
“It’s sadly predictable that Biden’s Justice Department won’t prosecute Garland because he disobeyed congressional subpoenas, even though it aggressively prosecuted Steve Bannon for the same thing. “This is another example of the Biden Administration’s two-tiered justice system,” he said.
We will also move to enforce the subpoena of Attorney General Garland in federal court… https://t.co/YOzqzlKWtE We will also move to enforce the subpoena of Attorney General Garland in federal… https://t.co/YOzqzlKWtE
— Speaker Mike Johnson (@SpeakerJohnson) June 14, 2024
CNN reports
Republican lawmakers have argued access to the tapes will provide more transparency, information and oversight in the investigation of a US president.
On Wednesday, all Republicans in the House voted against Garland’s contempt of Congress. The only exception was Rep. Dave Joyce from Ohio.
The Justice Department defended their decision not to turn over audio recordings of Biden’s interviews with Hur’s team, claiming that the decision was made to protect the investigation and future investigations. However, the Justice Department released public transcripts of these interviews.
Hur described Biden’s interviews as “a sympathetic, well meaning, elderly man with poor memory.”
Biden ridiculed Hur at the time and questioned his memory.
“Their job was to decide whether to press charges in this case,” Biden stated during a news conference following the report. He noted that Hur had not filed charges. “For any extraneous comments, they don’t have a clue what they’re saying.” It has no place in this report.”
“}]]
