By The opinion
Jun 15, 2024, 00:37 AM EDT
House Speaker Mike Johnson said Friday he will go to federal court to enforce a subpoena against Attorney General Merrick Garland to obtain audio recordings of President Joe Biden, after the Justice Department refused to act on the House contempt referral, according to CNN.
Johnson said in a statement that does not agree with the decision of the Department of Justicecalling it “another example of the two-tier justice system that the Biden Administration presented to us.”
“I will certify reports of contempt to the U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia,” the Louisiana Republican lawmaker said. “We will also take action to enforce Attorney General Garland’s subpoena in federal court.”
Johnson made the announcement after the Justice Department communicated in a letter its “longstanding” position not to prosecute executive branch officials who withhold information from Congress that is subject to executive privilege.
The announcement was anticipated after the House, in a largely party-line vote, found Garland in contempt for failing to turn over audio of Biden’s interview in special counsel Robert Hur’s investigation of classified documents.
Republican lawmakers have argued that access to the audio tapes would provide more information, transparency and supervision around the investigation for an impeachment trial of President Biden who have been trying to move forward for months without results.
On Wednesday, all House Republicans except one, Rep. Dave Joyce of Ohio, They voted to charge Garland with contempt of Congress.
While the Justice Department has defended its decision not to turn over audio recordings of Biden’s interviews with Hur and his team (stating that the decision was made in part to protect this and future investigations), the Justice Department did public transcripts of those interviews.
Describing the interviews, Hur said Biden presented himself “as a sympathetic, well-intentioned old man with a bad memory.”
At the time, Biden ridiculed Hur’s report and questions about his memory.
In a statement after the vote to find him guilty of contempt, Garland said Republicans had turned “a serious congressional authority into a partisan weapon” and that he was “deeply disappointed.”
Keep reading:
• Justice Department will not prosecute Attorney General Merrick Garland for contempt of the House
• House finds Attorney General Merrick Garland in contempt for withholding Biden audio
• Attorney General rejects Republican attacks in the House: “I will not be intimidated”