House Republicans next week will move forward with contempt of Congress charges against Attorney General Merrick Garland for failing to respond to a subpoena for audio recordings of a meeting between President Biden and former special counsel Robert Hur.
The House Judiciary Committee is scheduled to hold a markup meeting on May 16, where members will discuss and consider amendments to the contempt resolution before sending it to the full House for a vote. The plan is to do so, a person familiar with the matter confirmed to the Post.
In late February, Garland was told by House Oversight Committee Chairman Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) that Biden and Hur were part of the former special counsel’s investigation into the president’s handling of classified White House documents. A subpoena was issued requesting audio files of the lengthy interview. House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.);
The subpoenas were issued after top Justice Department officials initially did not respond to requests from the committee for documents related to the two-day briefing.
Transcripts of Mr. Xu’s Oct. 8 and Oct. 9 interviews with the 81-year-old president were eventually released by the Justice Department, revealing important details such as Mr. Biden forgetting the year his son Beau died of brain cancer. It turned out that the schedule had been mixed up. The year Donald Trump was elected president.
In an 11-page letter sent to both committees last month, Assistant Attorney General Carlos Uriarte denied claims that the interview recordings contained information relevant to the Republican-led Biden impeachment inquiry.
Mr. Uriarte called the insult threats surrounding the tapes “unwarranted” and argued that Mr. Garland appropriately responded to the subpoena by releasing the recorded interview.
“If the committee’s purpose was to receive information from the Department to advance its investigation, that purpose has been more than met,” Uriarte wrote. “Our collaboration has been exceptional.”
“We do not obtain evidence of criminal investigations that can later be used for political purposes,” he added.
Mr. Ha, a former Maryland district attorney appointed by President Trump, submitted his findings on Mr. Biden’s handling of classified information in early February.
His 388-page bombshell report said there was evidence that the commander-in-chief “intentionally retained and disclosed classified material,” but his team found it “beyond a reasonable doubt.” ” concluded that there was not enough to prove it.
Hoare also expressed concern that jurors would view the oldest president in U.S. history as a “sympathetic, well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory.”
