House Republicans voted Wednesday to hold Attorney General Merrick Garland in contempt of Congress for refusing to hand over audio recordings of special counsel Robert Hur's October interview with President Biden related to his retention of classified documents.
"Today, the House took a significant step in maintaining the integrity of our oversight processes and responsibilities by holding Attorney General Garland in contempt of Congress," House Speaker Mike Johnson said in a statement.
An internal DOJ memo obtained by the Hill claims that Garland would be shielded from prosecution, given Biden's move last month to assert executive privilege over the recordings.
House Democrats whipped their members to vote the contempt resolution down after it passed the Judiciary Committee last month along party lines, 18-15, with no Republicans objecting.
Garland appointed Hur as special counsel in January 2023 to investigate whether Biden improperly held on to classified and national security files after leaving the vice presidency.
House Republicans have requested the audio of that interview - along with other recordings of the special counsel's interrogation of Biden ghostwriter Mark Zwonitzer - but the White House blocked their release in May, citing executive privilege.
Oversight Committee ranking member Jamie Raskin scoffed at the "Madcap, wild-goose chase" to obtain the audio files during debate on the House floor, saying it would offer up only "Throat clearings and sneezes" - or at best become an "Embarrassing TV attack ad" against Biden.
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