The GOP’s Contempt of Congress Against Garland Faces Oversight Hurdles

Attorney General Merrick Garland is set to be held in contempt of Congress by the House GOP, but possible enforcement of the referral could be complicated by who is overseeing the prosecution.

The Washington Examiner has reported that the House Judiciary Committee is looking to hold Garland in contempt for failing to provide audio from President Joe Biden’s interview with then-special counsel Robert Hur as part of his investigation into the president’s alleged mishandling of classified documents. The Department of Justice provided redacted transcripts rather than the audio of the interview to the GOP-led committee.

A draft of the contempt report obtained by the Washington Examiner shows that House Republicans claim Garland has refused to comply with the subpoenas and has hindered the House GOP’s impeachment inquiry in the process.

If House Republicans succeed in holding Garland in contempt of Congress, the criminal referral would be made to the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Washington, D.C., for prosecution. U.S. Attorney Matthew Graves, who will decide whether to pursue a conviction of Garland on the contempt charges, reports to Garland.

Previous U.S. attorneys did not pursue conviction against former Attorneys General Eric Holder and William Barr when they were held in contempt of Congress in 2012 and 2019, respectively, and it is similarly unlikely Garland’s own DOJ would pursue charges against him.

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER

Outside of contempt votes against attorneys general, the DOJ rarely seeks a conviction of contempt of Congress charges.

In recent years, the DOJ has pursued and secured convictions of both Steve Bannon and Peter Navarro on contempt charges for ignoring subpoenas issued by the former House Jan. 6 committee.

Ashley Oliver contributed to this report.