Current:Home > ContactHouse rejects GOP effort to fine Attorney General Garland for refusal to turn over Biden audio -DollarDynamic
House rejects GOP effort to fine Attorney General Garland for refusal to turn over Biden audio
View
Date:2025-04-14 04:40:15
WASHINGTON (AP) — The House rejected a GOP effort Thursday to fine Attorney General Merrick Garland $10,000 a day until he turns over audio of President Joe Biden’s interview in his classified documents case as a handful of Republicans resisted taking an aggressive step against a sitting Cabinet official.
Even if the resolution — titled inherent contempt — had passed, it was unclear how the fine would be enforced as the dispute over the tape of Biden’s interview with special counsel Robert Hur is now playing out in court.
The House voted 204-210, with four Republicans joining all Democrats, to halt a Republican resolution that would have imposed the fine, effectively rebuffing the latest effort by GOP lawmakers to assert its enforcement powers — weeks after Biden asserted executive privilege to block the release of the recording.
“This is not a decision that we have reached lightly but the actions of the attorney general cannot be ignored,” Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, R-Fla., the resolution’s lead sponsors, said during debate Wednesday. “No one is above the law.”
The House earlier this year made Garland the third attorney general in U.S. history to be held in contempt of Congress. But the Justice Department said Garland would not be prosecuted, citing the agency’s “longstanding position and uniform practice” to not prosecute officials who don’t comply with subpoenas because of a president’s claim of executive privilege.
Democrats blasted the GOP effort as another political stunt. Rep. Jim McGovern, D-Mass., said that the resolution is unjustified in the case of Garland because he has complied with subpoena.
“Their frustration is that they can’t get their hands on an audio recording that they think they could turn into an RNC attack ad,” McGovern said in reference to the Republican National Committee. “When you start making a mockery of things like inherent contempt you diminish this institution.”
Garland himself has defended the Justice Department, saying officials have gone to extraordinary lengths to provide information to the committees about Hur’s classified documents investigation, including a transcript of Biden’s interview. However, Garland has said releasing the audio could jeopardize future sensitive investigations because witnesses might be less likely to cooperate if they know their interviews might become public.
House Republicans sued Garland earlier this month in an attempt to force the release of the recording.
Republicans have accused Biden of suppressing the recording because he’s afraid to have voters hear it during an election year. The White House and Democratic lawmakers, meanwhile, have slammed Republicans’ motives for pursuing contempt and dismissed their efforts to obtain the audio as purely political.
The congressional inquiry began with the release of Hur’s report in February, which found evidence that Biden willfully retained and shared highly classified information when he was a private citizen. Yet the special counsel concluded that criminal charges were not warranted.
Republicans, incensed by Hur’s decision, issued a subpoena for audio of his interviews with Biden during the spring. But the Justice Department turned over only some of the records, leaving out audio of the interview with the president.
Beyond the bitingly critical assessment of Biden’s handling of sensitive government records, Hur offered unflattering characterizations of the Democratic president’s memory in his report, sparking fresh questions about his competency and age that cut at voters’ most deep-seated concerns about the 81-year-old seeking a second term.
veryGood! (2)
Related
- 2 killed, 3 injured in shooting at makeshift club in Houston
- Amid Matthew Perry arrests, should doctors be blamed for overdose deaths?
- TikToker Nara Smith Addresses Accusation She’s Using Ozempic
- Olympic Runner Noah Lyles Reveals He Grew Up in a “Super Strict” Cult
- Whoopi Goldberg is delightfully vile as Miss Hannigan in ‘Annie’ stage return
- Olympic Runner Noah Lyles Reveals He Grew Up in a “Super Strict” Cult
- Man didn’t know woman he fatally shot in restaurant drive-thru before killing himself, police say
- Groups opposed to gerrymandering criticize proposed language on Ohio redistricting measure
- Average rate on 30
- Prisoner serving life for murder who escaped in North Carolina has been caught, authorities say
Ranking
- Who are the most valuable sports franchises? Forbes releases new list of top 50 teams
- Jennifer Lopez Visits Ben Affleck on His Birthday Amid Breakup Rumors
- College hockey games to be played at Wrigley Field during Winter Classic week
- Tennessee family’s lawsuit says video long kept from them shows police force, not drugs, killed son
- Juan Soto to be introduced by Mets at Citi Field after striking record $765 million, 15
- Tribe and environmental groups urge Wisconsin officials to rule against relocating pipeline
- Zoë Kravitz Details Hurtful Decision to Move in With Dad Lenny Kravitz Amid Lisa Bonet Divorce
- Love Island U.K. Tommy Fury Slams “False” Allegations He Cheated on Ex-Fiancée Molly-Mae Hague
Recommendation
Have Dry, Sensitive Skin? You Need To Add These Gentle Skincare Products to Your Routine
Cardinals superfan known as Rally Runner gets 10 months in prison for joining Jan. 6 Capitol riot
These tiny worms live in eyes, feed on tears and could transmit to humans
Family agrees to settle lawsuit against officer whose police dog killed an Alabama man
South Korea's acting president moves to reassure allies, calm markets after Yoon impeachment
Fantasy football: 160 team names you can use from every NFL team in 2024
Shine Bright With Blue Nile’s 25th Anniversary Sale— Best Savings of the Year on the Most Popular Styles
Lily Collins has found ‘Emily 2.0’ in Paris