WASHINGTON, DC - After the Justice Department refused to pursue criminal charges against Attorney General Merrick Garland, who was held in contempt of Congress by the House, Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) vowed to take the case to court, The Hill reported.
“It is sadly predictable that the Biden administration’s Justice Department will not prosecute Garland for defying congressional subpoenas even though the department aggressively prosecuted Steve Bannon and Peter Navarro for the same thing,” Johnson said in a statement, referring to two allies of former President Donald Trump, the AP reported. “This is yet another example of the two-tiered system of justice brought to us by the Biden administration.”
Last week, the DOJ issued a determination claiming that Garland committed no crime when he refused to turn over audio subpoenaed in connection with special counsel Robert Hur’s investigation of Biden in the classified documents probe. Transcripts of the interview between Hur’s team and Biden were released, but oddly, the DOJ refuses to turn over the recording.
Some speculate that the audio version would make Biden sound even worse than the transcript made him look, where Hur determined that Biden would be viewed as a “sympathetic, well-meaning elderly man with a poor memory.” Biden’s repeated fumbles and gaffes have been widely viewed since he took office and it has been speculated that Garland is trying to cover for him in the midst of a presidential race.
The DOJ in withholding the audio said that Republicans already have the transcript, and that Biden didn’t discuss anything relevant to Republican impeachment efforts in the House.
CNN reported that Johnson would be “certifying the contempt records to the U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia,” and he will be moving to “enforce the subpoena of Attorney General Garland in federal court.”
After the contempt vote passed, Garland said it was “deeply disappointing” that the House turned “congressional authority into a partisan weapon.”
Biden claimed “executive privilege” over the audio tapes of his interview despite the fact the transcripts have been released. Aside from hearing Biden’s demeanor during the interview, the tapes wouldn’t reveal any sensitive information beyond what the transcripts show.
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