DOJ won’t prosecute Garland for contempt of Congress

June 14, 2024

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The Department of Justice will not prosecute Attorney General Merrick Garland for contempt of court, according to a letter the department sent to House Speaker Mike Johnson on Friday.

The House voted Wednesday to hold Garland in contempt of Congress for refusing to turn over audio of meetings between President Biden and special counsel Robert Hur.

“Consistent with this long-standing position and uniform practice, the Department of Justice has determined that Attorney General Garland’s responses to subpoenas issued by the Committee do not constitute a crime. Accordingly, the Department will not present a contempt of Congress charge to a grand jury or take any other steps to indict the Attorney General,” Assistant Attorney General Carlos Felipe Uriarte said in a letter to Johnson.

In 2019, the Justice Department declined to indict then-Attorney General Bill Barr after the House of Representatives voted to hold him in contempt for failing to comply with a congressional subpoena.

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Attorney General Merrick Garland testifies during a House Judiciary Committee hearing on the Department of Justice on Capitol Hill in Washington, June 4, 2024. (AP/Jacqueline Martin)

Uriarte said the Justice Department provided Ho’s report to lawmakers without any redactions and assisted him in his congressional testimony. The Justice Department also turned over transcripts of Ho’s interviews with Biden and other materials.

“Despite the Department’s efforts to comply with the Committee’s request, the Committee’s lack of sufficient need for audio files to further legitimate Congressional purposes, and the President’s direction, on May 16, 2024, the Committee adopted a resolution recommending that the House hold the Attorney General in contempt,” he wrote.

The vote was 216-207, with Republican Rep. Dave Joyce of Ohio voting no. The decision came after House Republicans had been trying for months to release as much of the special counsel’s interview material as possible, which they said could provide important context about Biden’s state of mind.

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The Democratic National Committee paid lawyers representing President Biden while he was under investigation by Special Counsel Robert Hur for allegedly possessing classified documents. (Getty Images)

Democrats, meanwhile, dismissed the request as a partisan effort. Politicize Department of Justice.

Hoare concluded that criminal charges against Biden for his handling of classified documents were unjustified, but said the 81-year-old president described himself as a “caring, well-meaning elderly man with a declining memory” and that it would be “difficult to persuade a jury that a former president, then well into his 80s, should be convicted of a felony that requires a wayward state of mind.”

Garland said after Wednesday’s vote that he was disappointed the House had used its power as a “partisan weapon.”

“Today’s vote ignores the constitutional separation of powers, the need to protect the Department of Justice’s investigations, and the vast amount of information I have provided to the committee,” he said. “I will always defend the Department of Justice, its employees, and its important mission to protect our democracy.”