Representative Ana Paulina Luna, Republican of Florida, is currently threatening to force a vote on a bill that would impose a fine of $10,000 per day on Attorney General Merrick Garland if he does not turn over the audio tapes of Special Counsel Robert Hur’s meetings with President Biden.
Luna said he would push for a vote on the essential contempt resolution against Garland on Friday, but after discussions with House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-Louisiana, he agreed to delay the vote, according to a source familiar with the matter. Luna later confirmed on Twitter that he intended to hold the vote next week.
Intrinsic contempt is a rarely used congressional ploy that the House could use to convict Garland.
She is expected to file a new resolution Friday to hold Garland in substantive contempt and impose fines over the tapes, and to declare the measure “privileged” when the House reconvenes on July 8.
No contempt charges against Attorney General Garland for refusing to turn over audio of Justice Department, Biden, Harper interviews
Rep. Anna Paulina Luna wants to force a second vote on whether the House should arrest Attorney General Merrick Garland. (Getty Images)
Once a resolution is deemed “privileged,” the House must adopt it within two legislative days.
Fox News Digital has reached out to Johnson’s office for further comment.
Luna had been preparing a resolution for essential contempt for some time, but the threat of a fine was added following Biden’s disastrous performance during last Thursday’s debate between Biden and former President Trump on CNN.
The 81-year-old president’s voice was hoarse, reportedly due to a cold, and he stumbled over his answers multiple times during the primetime event. Viewers also observed that he appeared tired and noticeably less agile than when he faced off against Trump in 2020.
No contempt charges against Attorney General Garland for refusing to turn over audio of Justice Department, Biden, Harper interviews
Rep. Anna Paulina Luna also wants to fine Garland based on the number of days the Justice Department keeps the Biden-Har audio tapes. (Getty Images)
That has sparked fresh backlash from Republicans and even raised concerns among some Democrats that Biden may not be fit to remain in the White House for another four years.
Some House Republicans have long argued that Biden is mentally unfit to serve and voted last month to hold Garland in contempt of Congress for refusing to turn over audio tapes of Huh’s interviews with Biden about handling classified documents. The Justice Department declined to prosecute, citing Biden’s assertion of executive privilege over the tapes.
Biden’s counterargument is that the full transcript is already available and he has slammed the Republican effort as blatantly partisan.
Former Rep. Charlie Rangel, 94, has questioned whether Biden should be in a nursing home rather than the White House.
But Republicans argue the tapes will provide needed context about Biden’s intellectual acuity that isn’t available in the transcripts.
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House Republicans also sued Garland on Monday to get access to the tapes. The suit was led by House Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan (R-Ohio).
Fox News Digital first reported that Judge Luna told his colleagues last week that he intended to force a vote on whether to hold Garland in substantial contempt.
The little-known tactic, not used since the 1930s, would have involved instructing House whistleblowers to take Garland into custody and put him on trial under House control. It has never been used against a Cabinet member, but the Supreme Court upheld Congress’ authority to use it in 1935.
