On Friday, the US Department of Justice announced that Attorney General Merrick Garland would not be charged with contempt of Congress for refusing to turn over recordings of President Biden’s testimony in a classified document case to Congress, stating that this action “does not constitute a crime”.
According to the Associated Press, the Department of Justice informed House Republican Leader Mike Johnson of this decision in a letter, citing the agency’s “long-standing position and consistent practice” of not prosecuting officials who refuse to comply with congressional subpoenas based on exercising executive privilege as stated by the President.
President Biden declared last month that he was asserting executive privilege to block the release of the audio recordings requested by House Republicans from Garland. However, the Republicans proceeded with their established procedures and voted on Wednesday to hold Garland in contempt of Congress.
Assistant Attorney General Carlos Felipe Uriarte pointed out that regardless of the party affiliation of the President, the Department of Justice has previously refused to prosecute officials in similar situations where executive privilege was invoked.
Uriarte stated that as a result, the Department of Justice will not present the resolution of Congress finding Garland in contempt to a grand jury, nor will it take any other actions to prosecute the Attorney General.
The letter did not specify who within the Department of Justice made this decision.
The special prosecutor at the Department of Justice investigating the Biden classified document case, Robert Hur, recommended in a 345-page investigative report not to bring any charges against Biden. However, the report described some instances of Biden’s declining memory, sparking political controversy as it may disadvantage the 81-year-old Biden’s reelection campaign.
Prior to testifying before Congress in March, Hur submitted transcripts of last year’s interview with Biden to House Republicans.
Subsequently, House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer and Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan issued subpoenas requesting the Department of Justice to provide the interview recordings. However, the Department of Justice only handed over partial recordings and did not provide the audio of Hur interviewing Biden.
Republicans accused the White House of suppressing the tapes, believing that Biden was afraid of letting voters hear these recordings in an election year.
Following the House vote on Wednesday, Garland criticized Republicans for using contempt of Congress as a partisan tool.
The Department of Justice’s decision not to prosecute Garland may lead to further actions by House Republicans.