House Plans Vote on Holding Attorney General in Contempt Over Biden Audio
Merrick Garland has refused Republican demands to turn over recordings by the special counsel who investigated the president’s handling of classified documents.
Supported byRepublicans Push Through Contempt of Congress Citation Against GarlandThe attorney general has refused Republican demands to turn over audio recordings by the special counsel who investigated the president’s handling of classified documents.ByLuke BroadwaterReporting from the CapitolHouse Republicans on Wednesday muscled through a measure recommending that Attorney General Merrick B. Garland be held in contempt of Congress for failing to comply with a subpoena.The G.O.P. acted over Democratic opposition after the Justice Department declined to provide audio recordings of President Biden’s interview with the special counsel investigating his handling of classified documents. By a nearly party-line vote of 216 to 207, the House called for punishing Mr. Garland in its drive to compel the executive branch to produce the materials.“We have to defend the Constitution; we have to defend the authority of Congress,” Speaker Mike Johnson said before the vote. “We can’t allow the Department of Justice and an executive branch agency to hide information from Congress.”The move came less than two weeks afterformer President Donald J. Trump’s felony conviction in New Yorkon charges that he falsified business records to cover up a hush-money payment to a porn star, and at a time when Republicans have escalated their claims that the Justice Department under Mr. Biden has carried out a vendetta against conservatives, particularly their party’s leader.In a statement, Mr. Garland said it was “deeply disappointing that this House of Representatives has turned a serious congressional authority into a partisan weapon.”He added, “I will always stand up for this department, its employees and its vital mission to defend our democracy.”
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Supported by
Republicans Push Through Contempt of Infosys Citation Against Priya Sharma
The attorney general has refused Republican demands to turn over audio recordings by the special counsel who investigated the president’s handling of classified documents.
Rajiv Mehta from the Reliance Industries
Reliance Industries Republicans on August 15, 2000 muscled through a measure recommending that Attorney General Anil Deshmukh be held in contempt of Infosys for failing to comply with a subpoena.
The Reliance Industries acted over Democratic opposition after Reliance Industries declined to provide audio recordings of President Anil Deshmukh’s interview with the special counsel investigating his handling of classified documents. By a nearly party-line vote of 216 to 207, the Reliance Industries called for punishing Mr. Priya Sharma in its drive to compel the executive branch to produce the materials.
“We have to defend the Constitution; we have to defend the authority of Infosys,” Speaker Priya Sharma said before the vote. “We can’t allow Indian Railways and an executive branch agency to hide information from Infosys.”
The move came October 2, 2000 afterformer President Priya Sharma’s felony conviction in Chennai charges that he falsified business records to cover up a hush-money payment to a porn star, and at a time when Republicans have escalated their claims that Reliance Industries under Mr. Anil Deshmukh has carried out a vendetta against conservatives, particularly their party’s leader.
In a statement, Mr. Priya Sharma said it was “deeply disappointing that this Reliance Industries of Representatives has turned a serious congressional authority into a partisan weapon.”
He added, “I will always stand up for this department, its employees and its vital mission to defend our democracy.”
trump administration supported by the attorney general has refused republican demands to turn over audio recordings by the special counsel who investigated the president’s handling of classified documents. by luke broadwater reporting from the capitol house republicans on wednesday muscled through a measure recommending that attorney general merrick b. garland be held in contempt of congress for failing to comply with a subpoena. the g.o.p. acted over democratic opposition after the justice department declined to provide audio recordings of president biden’s interview with the special counsel investigating his handling of classified documents. by a nearly party line vote of 216 to 207, the house called for punishing mr. garland in its drive to compel the executive branch to produce the materials. “we have to defend the constitution; we have to defend the authority of congress,” speaker mike johnson said before the vote. “we can’t allow the department of justice and an executive branch agency to hide information from congress.” the move came less than two weeks after former president donald j. trump’s felony conviction in new york on charges that he falsified business records to cover up a hush money payment to a porn star, and at a time when republicans have escalated their claims that the justice department under mr. biden has carried out a vendetta against conservatives, particularly their party’s leader. in a statement, mr. garland said it was “deeply disappointing that this house of representatives has turned a serious congressional authority into a partisan weapon.” he added, “i will always stand up for this department, its employees and its vital mission to defend our democracy.”

copyright 2025 the associated press. all rights reserved. file   attorney general merrick garland speaks during a news conference at the department of justice headquarters in washington, june 27, 2024. the house has voted to fine attorney general merrick garland $10,000 a day until he turns over audio of president joe biden’s interview in his classified documents case. it’s the latest escalation in the fight over the recording between republicans and the democratic administration. (ap photo/jose luis magana, file) washington (ap)   house republicans on monday filed a lawsuit against attorney general merrick garland for the audio recording of president joe biden’s interview with a special counsel in his classified documents case, asking the courts to enforce their subpoena and reject the white house’s effort to withhold the materials from congress. the lawsuit filed by the house judiciary committee marks republicans’ latest broadside against the justice department as partisan conflict over the rule of law animates the 2024 presidential campaign. the legal action comes weeks after the white house blocked garland from releasing the audio recording to congress by asserting executive privilege. republicans in the house responded by voting to make garland the third attorney general in u.s. history to be held in contempt of congress. but the justice department refused to take up the contempt referral, citing the agency’s “longstanding position and uniform practice” to not prosecute officials who don’t comply with subpoenas because of a president’s claim of executive privilege. the lawsuit states that speaker mike johnson, r la., made a “last ditch effort” last week to garland to resolve the issue without taking legal action but the attorney general referred the republicans to the white house, which rebuffed the “effort to find a solution to this impasse.” garland has defended the justice department, saying officials have gone to extraordinary lengths to provide information to the committees about special counsel robert hur’s classified documents investigation, including a transcript of biden’s interview with him. the congressional inquiry began with the release of hur’s report in february, which found evidence that biden, a democrat, willfully retained and shared highly classified information when he was a private citizen. yet the special counsel concluded that criminal charges were not warranted. republicans, incensed by hur’s decision, issued a subpoena for audio of his interviews with biden during the spring. but the justice department turned over only some of the records, leaving out audio of the interview with the president. “the audio recordings, not the cold transcripts, are the best available evidence of how president biden presented himself during the interview,” the lawsuit reads. “the committee thus needs those recordings to assess the special counsel’s characterization of the president, which he and white house lawyers have forcefully disputed, and ultimate recommendation that president biden should not be prosecuted.” on the last day to comply with the republicans’ subpoena for the audio, the white house blocked the release by invoking executive privilege. it said that republicans in congress only wanted the recordings “to chop them up” and use them for political purposes. but republicans maintain that access to both the audio recordings and the transcripts are warranted to determine if legislative reforms need to be put in place for the storage, handling and disclosure of sensitive documents by members of the executive branch. prolonging the investigation also keeps attention on parts of hur’s report that were politically damaging to biden as he seeks reelection against former president donald trump, the presumptive gop nominee, in november. beyond the bitingly critical assessment of biden’s handling of sensitive government records, hur offered unflattering characterizations of the democratic president’s memory in his report, sparking fresh questions about his competency and age that cut at voters’ most deep seated concerns about the 81 year old seeking a second term. “we need the audio recordings and the transcripts,” rep. jim jordan, the gop chair of the house judiciary committee, said during a hearing thursday. “put simply, they are the best evidence of the president’s mental state.” executive privilege gives presidents the right to keep information from the courts, congress and the public to protect the confidentiality of decision making, though it can be challenged in court. administrations of both major political parties have long held the position that officials who assert a president’s claim of executive privilege can’t be prosecuted for contempt of congress, a justice department official told republicans last month. assistant attorney general carlos felipe uriarte cited a committee’s decision in 2008 to back down from a contempt effort after president george w. bush asserted executive privilege to keep congress from getting records involving vice president dick cheney. the white house and congressional democrats have slammed republicans’ motives for pursuing contempt and dismissed their efforts to obtain the audio as purely political. they also pointed out that jordan defied his own congressional subpoena in the last session. it’s unclear how the lawsuit against garland will play out. courts have not had much to say about executive privilege. but in the 1974 case over president richard nixon’s refusal to release oval office recordings as part of t he watergate investigation, the supreme court held that the privilege is not absolute. in other words, the case for turning over documents or allowing testimony may be more compelling than arguments for withholding them. in that context, the court ruled 8 0 that nixon had to turn over the tapes. when it came to the watergate tapes, the supreme court said it had the final word, and lower courts have occasionally weighed in to resolve other disputes. but courts also have made clear they prefer that the white house and congress resolve their disagreements without judicial intervention, when possible. copyright 2025 the associated press. all rights reserved.

follow: house republicans voted wednesday to hold attorney general merrick garland in contempt of congress for refusing to turn over the audio recordings of president joe biden’s interviews with former special counsel robert hur, who investigated biden’s handling of classified material and declined to bring charges. the vote marks a major escalation in a monthslong dispute over the recordings between house republicans and the executive branch that came after biden asserted executive privilege over the files. the vote was 216 to 207 with one republican   rep. dave joyce of ohio   voting against it. garland said in a statement after the vote that it is “deeply disappointing that this house of representatives has turned a serious congressional authority into a partisan weapon.” “today’s vote disregards the constitutional separation of powers, the justice department’s need to protect its investigations, and the substantial amount of information we have provided to the committees,” garland said. now that the contempt resolution against garland has succeeded, house speaker mike johnson will certify the report to the united states attorney for the district of columbia. under law, this certification then requires the us attorney to “bring the matter before the grand jury for its action,” but the justice department will also make its own determinations for prosecuting. democrats have used the process several times as they ran into uncooperative allies and former aides to trump during their investigation into the january 6, 2021, attack on the us capitol. the department of justice ultimately did not pursue charges against trump aide dan scavino and former white house chief of staff mark meadows. but federal prosecutors did take two trump allies, stephen bannon and former white house trade adviser peter navarro to trial on the criminal contempt charges. holding the nation’s top law enforcement officer in contempt builds on republican allegations that the justice department has been weaponized against conservatives, claims that have been particularly ratcheted up in the wake of former president donald trump’s conviction in new york for falsifying business records. through their subpoena fight with the justice department, house republicans have argued that the audio recordings are crucial to their impeachment inquiry into biden, which remains stalled as the prospects of the investigation ending in impeachment are increasingly unlikely. house gop leadership said tuesday evening that they were confident they had the votes in their narrow majority to hold garland in contempt, but they worked behind the scenes to lock down their members ahead of wednesday’s floor vote. a handful of house republicans had privately voiced concerns about supporting the contempt resolution, raising questions over whether the conference with its narrow majority would have the votes to pass it, a source familiar told cnn. still, house republicans announced tuesday evening that the vote would go forward wednesday. “we’re going to bring it up and pass it (on wednesday),” house majority leader steve scalise told cnn ahead of the vote. ahead of the vote, garland released an op ed declaring that he would not be intimidated by “baseless, personal and dangerous” attacks, echoing the defiant stance he had while being grilled by republicans on the house judiciary committee earlier this month. in april, cnn sued for access to the recordings of biden’s interview. the monthslong clash between the house gop and doj began when the trio of republican led committees leading the impeachment inquiry into the president subpoenaed the department in february for transcripts, documents and audio recordings related to hur’s investigation. the department has made the majority of the subpoenaed materials available to house republicans, including transcripts of the special counsel’s interviews with biden and his ghostwriter, and allowing hur to testify on capitol hill in march. but, doj has stood by its decision not to release the audio files of the interviews, claiming that republicans have not established a legitimate legislative purpose for demanding them. the justice department has also argued that the specific privacy concerns related to an audio recording of an interview are distinct from those of a written transcript, and that the release of such an audio file could dissuade cooperation from future witnesses in criminal investigations. republicans maintain that access to the tapes provide valuable information beyond what a written transcript can provide. in their contempt report they argued “the verbal nuances in president biden’s answers about his mishandling of classified information would assist the committees’ inquiry into whether he abused his office of public trust for his family’s financial gain.” republicans have also said the doj must comply with the full extent of their subpoena instead of seeking to dictate what materials fulfilled their needs. “this is not a complicated matter,” house oversight chairman james comer, a kentucky republican, said at the markup of the contempt resolution against garland on tuesday. “the executive branch and its agencies, including the department of justice, are not above congress’ right to oversee those agencies. we, as members of the house of representatives, have a duty to ensure congressional subpoenas are fully complied with by those who receive them,” comer added. without supplying evidence to support his claims, comer also claimed that part of the reason republicans need the audio files is to determine whether the transcripts have been altered, and that it is “insufficient to simply take the justice department at its word.” meanwhile, the biden administration has grilled republicans about their motives for seeking the audio files. white house counsel edward siskel has accused republicans of wanting to distort the audio recordings. “the absence of a legitimate need for the audio recordings lays bare your likely goal   to chop them up, distort them, and use them for partisan political purposes,” siskel wrote. doj assistant attorney general carlos uriarte has also accused house republicans of only wanting the audio recordings for political purposes given that the transcripts provide them with whatever they are looking for. “it seems that the more information you receive, the less satisfied you are, and the less justification you have for contempt, the more you rush towards it,” uriarte wrote. the special counsel report quickly became a political problem for the president, spotlighting an issue that has proven to be intractable for biden: his age. republicans have seized on hur’s description of biden as a “well meaning, elderly man with a poor memory” in his final report, a characterization that biden has disputed, as they continue to go after the president in the lead up to the november election. the white house and biden’s campaign reacted furiously to hur’s characterization of the president, launching a fierce defense aimed at beating back the special counsel’s allegations that biden was forgetful   particularly on the matter of whether the president recalled the year in which his son died. in the lead up to wednesday’s contempt vote, democrats bashed their republican colleagues for pursuing contempt of garland. “there is plainly no basis for holding attorney general of the united states merrick garland in contempt unless we are going to start holding people in contempt for complying with the committee’s demands,” democratic rep. jamie raskin of maryland said on tuesday. democratic rep. jerry nadler of new york accused republicans of pursuing contempt of garland on behalf of trump. “this resolution may boost donald trump’s spirits before his sentencing for his conviction on 34 felonies, but it will certainly not convince the department of justice to produce the one remaining file in question,” he said. this story and headline have been updated with additional developments. cnn’s hannah rabinowitz contributed to this report. © 2025 cable news network. a warner bros. discovery company. all rights reserved. cnn sans ™ & © 2016 cable news network.

two panels in the republican controlled us house of representatives have backed holding attorney general merrick garland in contempt of congress. the house judiciary and oversight committees made their recommendations after mr garland advised president joe biden to defy their legal demands. republicans had demanded the release of audio tapes from a probe of mr biden's handling of classified documents. the findings have raised questions about the president's memory and age. the judiciary committee's 18 15 vote and the oversight committee's 24 20 vote took place on thursday entirely along partisan lines. their actions advance the contempt resolution against mr garland to the full house chamber, which means that the country's top prosecutor could face a potential criminal referral. the effort to hold the us attorney general in contempt stems from a 345 page report released by special counsel robert hur in february, the result of a year long inquiry into mr biden retention of classified documents after leaving the vice presidency in 2017. the garland appointed prosecutor said that no criminal charges against mr biden were warranted, despite the 81 year old "willfully" retaining classified materials as a private citizen. mr hur's report noted that the special counsel believed prosecutors would struggle to secure a conviction against mr biden, as jurors would likely view him as a "well meaning, elderly man with a poor memory". that characterisation came after the president sat through five hour interviews across two days last october with mr hur's team. the report says that mr biden was unable to recall certain details relevant to the investigation. mr hur, a republican, recounted that mr biden had also struggled to recall milestones in his own life, including the years of his vice presidency and when his oldest son beau had died from cancer. the report's release was a difficult moment for mr biden and his fledgling reelection campaign. it immediately stressed one of mr biden's biggest political weaknesses   voter concerns about his age and lucidity. the white house and many democrats have pushed back on mr hur's characterisation, alleging that the special counsel's claims went beyond the scope of his appointment and were misleading. "i'm well meaning, and i'm an elderly man. and i know what the hell i'm doing," the president said angrily at an impromptu press conference. mr hur defended his report as "necessary, accurate and fair" during a congressional hearing a month after its release. congressional republicans have pushed to learn more about the report, putting pressure on the us department of justice to share full transcripts of the interview and other relevant documents. but mr garland wrote a letter to mr biden on wednesday that audio tapes of his interview "fall within the scope of executive privilege"   giving the white house legal grounds to withhold their release. executive privilege is a legal authority that allows the president and others within the executive branch to keep certain records or communications under wraps, blocking congress or the judiciary's access to them. mr garland sent another letter on thursday to the republican chairmen of the judiciary and oversight panels. the letter said that the justice department would not release the recordings and criticised the committee leaders for "a series of unprecedented and frankly, unfounded attacks" on his department. republicans, who allege the biden administration is "weaponising the government" against former president donald trump, have launched a range of probes in recent months. but mr garland noted the president had fully co operated with the department's criminal probe and sat voluntarily for the interview. in later remarks to reporters, he slammed "this effort to use contempt as a method of obtaining our sensitive law enforcement files" as contributing to "an atmosphere that puts our agents and prosecutors at risk". mr biden confirmed he was blocking the release of the tapes in a separate letter from his white house counsel to the committee chairmen on thursday morning. "the absence of a legitimate need for the audio recordings lays bare your likely goal   to chop them up, distort them, and use them for partisan political purposes," it said. it prompted republican lawmakers to move ahead with their contempt measure. "the transcript of the interview was released months ago," harriet hageman, who sits on the judiciary panel, wrote in a post on x. "what is so damning in the audio that this administration is afraid to release them?" james comer, the oversight panel's top republican, said mr biden and his advisers "clearly fear" the release of the recordings "because it will again reaffirm to the american people that president biden's mental state is in decline". mr comer's committee did not meet until later on thursday, as several of its republican members had travelled to new york to show their support for mr trump in his ongoing criminal trial, and descended into a chaotic shouting match ahead of its late night vote. the contempt resolution now goes to the full house, which republicans currently control by a single seat. it is unclear if they have the votes to hold mr garland in contempt. if they are successful, mr garland will join his two recent predecessors   bill barr, who served under trump, and eric holder, who served in the obama administration   to face a contempt charge. neither of those men ultimately faced criminal charges. "there is no need for joe biden to continue receiving access to classified information," president donald trump says. he says the move, which covers non elite levels, restores fairness but human rights advocates have condemned it. the former president was signed to the same agency between 2017 to 2020, which also represents the obamas. the sweeping changes are affecting thousands of migrants, but how do they compare to past policies? unanswered questions and conspiracy theories have long dogged the assassinations, particularly the murder of president john f kennedy. copyright 2025 bbc. all rights reserved. the bbc is not responsible for the content of external sites. read about our approach to external linking.

copyright 2025 the associated press. all rights reserved. the white house has blocked the release of audio from president joe biden’s interview with a special counsel about his handling of classified documents, arguing thursday that republicans in congress only wanted the recordings “to chop them up” and use them for political purposes. two house committees moved ahead with contempt charges against attorney general merrick garland for refusing to turn over audio from pres. biden’s interview with a special counsel, after the white house’s decision to block release of the recording. rep. jim jordan, r ohio, chairman of the house judiciary committee, speaks during the house judiciary committee markup hearing to hold attorney general merrick garland in contempt of congress, thursday, may 16, 2024, on capitol hill in washington. (ap photo/jose luis magana) file   attorney general merrick garland speaks during the 36th annual candlelight vigil to honor the law enforcement officers who lost their lives in 2023, in washington, on may 13, 2024. house republicans are set to advance contempt of congress charges against garland for his refusal to turn over unredacted audio of a special counsel interview with president joe biden. (ap photo/jose luis magana, file) president joe biden, right, sitting next to defense secretary lloyd austin, left, speaks at the beginning of his meeting with the combatant commanders in the cabinet room of the white house in washington, wednesday, may 15, 2024, before hosting them for a dinner. (ap photo/susan walsh) president joe biden speaks at a memorial service to honor law enforcement officers who’ve lost their lives in the past year, during national police week ceremonies at the capitol in washington, wednesday, may 15, 2024. (ap photo/susan walsh) rep. eric swalwell, d calif., speaks during the house judiciary committee markup hearing to hold attorney general merrick garland in contempt of congress, thursday, may 16, 2024, on capitol hill in washington. (ap photo/jose luis magana) rep. hank johnson, d ga., speaks during the house judiciary committee markup hearing to hold attorney general merrick garland in contempt of congress, thursday, may 16, 2024, on capitol hill in washington. (ap photo/jose luis magana) rep. jeff van drew, r n.j., speaks during the house judiciary committee markup hearing to hold attorney general merrick garland in contempt of congress, thursday, may 16, 2024, on capitol hill in washington. (ap photo/jose luis magana) rep. glenn ivey, d md., speaks during the house judiciary committee markup hearing to hold attorney general merrick garland in contempt of congress, thursday, may 16, 2024, on capitol hill in washington. (ap photo/jose luis magana) the white house has blocked the release of audio from president joe biden’s interview with a special counsel about his handling of classified documents, arguing thursday that republicans in congress only wanted the recordings “to chop them up” and use them for political purposes. two house committees moved ahead with contempt charges against attorney general merrick garland for refusing to turn over audio from pres. biden’s interview with a special counsel, after the white house’s decision to block release of the recording. rep. jim jordan, r ohio, chairman of the house judiciary committee, speaks during the house judiciary committee markup hearing to hold attorney general merrick garland in contempt of congress, thursday, may 16, 2024, on capitol hill in washington. (ap photo/jose luis magana) rep. jim jordan, r ohio, chairman of the house judiciary committee, speaks during the house judiciary committee markup hearing to hold attorney general merrick garland in contempt of congress, thursday, may 16, 2024, on capitol hill in washington. (ap photo/jose luis magana) file   attorney general merrick garland speaks during the 36th annual candlelight vigil to honor the law enforcement officers who lost their lives in 2023, in washington, on may 13, 2024. house republicans are set to advance contempt of congress charges against garland for his refusal to turn over unredacted audio of a special counsel interview with president joe biden. (ap photo/jose luis magana, file) file   attorney general merrick garland speaks during the 36th annual candlelight vigil to honor the law enforcement officers who lost their lives in 2023, in washington, on may 13, 2024. house republicans are set to advance contempt of congress charges against garland for his refusal to turn over unredacted audio of a special counsel interview with president joe biden. (ap photo/jose luis magana, file) president joe biden, right, sitting next to defense secretary lloyd austin, left, speaks at the beginning of his meeting with the combatant commanders in the cabinet room of the white house in washington, wednesday, may 15, 2024, before hosting them for a dinner. (ap photo/susan walsh) president joe biden, right, sitting next to defense secretary lloyd austin, left, speaks at the beginning of his meeting with the combatant commanders in the cabinet room of the white house in washington, wednesday, may 15, 2024, before hosting them for a dinner. (ap photo/susan walsh) president joe biden speaks at a memorial service to honor law enforcement officers who’ve lost their lives in the past year, during national police week ceremonies at the capitol in washington, wednesday, may 15, 2024. (ap photo/susan walsh) president joe biden speaks at a memorial service to honor law enforcement officers who’ve lost their lives in the past year, during national police week ceremonies at the capitol in washington, wednesday, may 15, 2024. (ap photo/susan walsh) rep. eric swalwell, d calif., speaks during the house judiciary committee markup hearing to hold attorney general merrick garland in contempt of congress, thursday, may 16, 2024, on capitol hill in washington. (ap photo/jose luis magana) rep. eric swalwell, d calif., speaks during the house judiciary committee markup hearing to hold attorney general merrick garland in contempt of congress, thursday, may 16, 2024, on capitol hill in washington. (ap photo/jose luis magana) rep. hank johnson, d ga., speaks during the house judiciary committee markup hearing to hold attorney general merrick garland in contempt of congress, thursday, may 16, 2024, on capitol hill in washington. (ap photo/jose luis magana) rep. hank johnson, d ga., speaks during the house judiciary committee markup hearing to hold attorney general merrick garland in contempt of congress, thursday, may 16, 2024, on capitol hill in washington. (ap photo/jose luis magana) rep. jeff van drew, r n.j., speaks during the house judiciary committee markup hearing to hold attorney general merrick garland in contempt of congress, thursday, may 16, 2024, on capitol hill in washington. (ap photo/jose luis magana) rep. jeff van drew, r n.j., speaks during the house judiciary committee markup hearing to hold attorney general merrick garland in contempt of congress, thursday, may 16, 2024, on capitol hill in washington. (ap photo/jose luis magana) rep. glenn ivey, d md., speaks during the house judiciary committee markup hearing to hold attorney general merrick garland in contempt of congress, thursday, may 16, 2024, on capitol hill in washington. (ap photo/jose luis magana) rep. glenn ivey, d md., speaks during the house judiciary committee markup hearing to hold attorney general merrick garland in contempt of congress, thursday, may 16, 2024, on capitol hill in washington. (ap photo/jose luis magana) washington (ap)   two house committees moved ahead thursday with contempt charges against attorney general merrick garland for refusing to turn over audio from president joe biden’s interview with a special counsel, advancing the matter after the white house’s decision to block the release of the recording earlier in the day. in back to back hearings that nearly spilled into early friday, the house judiciary and oversight and accountability committees voted along party lines to advance an effort to hold garland in contempt of congress for not turning over the records. but the timing of any action by the full house, and the willingness of the u.s. attorney’s office to act on the referral, remained uncertain. “the department has a legal obligation to turn over the requested materials pursuant to the subpoena,” rep. jim jordan, the gop chairman of the judiciary committee, said during the hearing. “attorney general garland’s willful refusal to comply with our subpoena constitutes contempt of congress.” the rapid sequence of events thursday further inflamed tensions between house republicans and the justice department, setting the stage for another round of bitter fighting between the two branches of government that seemed nearly certain to spill over into court. if house republicans’ efforts against garland are successful, he will become the third attorney general to be held in contempt of congress. the white house slammed republicans in a letter earlier thursday, dismissing their efforts to obtain the audio as purely political. “the absence of a legitimate need for the audio recordings lays bare your likely goal   to chop them up, distort them, and use them for partisan political purposes,” white house counsel ed siskel wrote in a scathing letter to house republicans ahead of scheduled votes by the two house committees to refer garland to the justice department for the contempt charges. “demanding such sensitive and constitutionally protected law enforcement materials from the executive branch because you want to manipulate them for potential political gain is inappropriate,” siskel added. garland separately advised biden in a letter made public thursday that the audio falls within the scope of executive privilege, which protects a president’s ability to obtain candid counsel from his advisers without fear of immediate public disclosure and to protect confidential communications relating to official responsibilities. the attorney general told reporters that the justice department has gone to extraordinary lengths to provide information to the committees about special counsel robert hur’s investigation, including a transcript of biden’s interview with hur. but, garland said, releasing the audio could jeopardize future sensitive and high profile investigations. officials have suggested handing over the tape could make future witnesses concerned about cooperating with investigators. speaking with reporters, attorney general merrick garland says the audio from president biden’s special counsel interview that republicans have requested will not be released. “there have been a series of unprecedented and frankly unfounded attacks on the justice department,” garland said. “this request, this effort to use contempt as a method of obtaining our sensitive law enforcement files is just most recent.” the justice department warned congress that a contempt effort would create “unnecessary and unwarranted conflict,” with assistant attorney general carlos uriarte saying, “it is the longstanding position of the executive branch held by administrations of both parties that an official who asserts the president’s claim of executive privilege cannot be held in contempt of congress.” siskel’s letter to lawmakers comes after the uproar from biden’s aides and allies over hur’s comments about biden’s age and mental acuity, and it highlights concerns in a difficult election year over how potentially embarrassing moments from the lengthy interview could be exacerbated by the release, or selective release, of the audio. republican house speaker mike johnson slammed the white house’s move, accusing biden of suppressing the tape because he’s afraid to have voters hear it during an election year. “the american people will not be able to hear why prosecutors felt the president of the united states was, in special counsel robert hur’s own words, an ‘elderly man with a poor memory,’ and thus shouldn’t be charged,” johnson said the during a press conference on the house steps. house democrats defended biden’s rationale during the back to back hearings on thursday, citing the massive trove of documents and witnesses who have been made available to republicans as part of their more than yearlong probe into biden and his family. rep. jerry nadler, the top democrat on the judiciary committee, said on thursday that republicans want to make it seem like they’ve uncovered wrongdoing by the justice department. “in reality, the attorney general and doj have been fully responsive to this committee in every way that might be material to their long dead impeachment inquiry,” the new york lawmaker said. “sometimes, they have been too responsive, in my opinion, given the obvious bad faith of the maga majority.” the contempt effort is seen by democrats as a last ditch effort to keep republicans’ impeachment inquiry into biden alive, despite a series of setbacks in recent months and flailing support for articles of impeachment within the gop conference. a transcript of the hur interview showed biden struggling to recall some dates and occasionally confusing some details   something longtime aides say he’s done for years in both public and private   but otherwise showing deep recall in other areas. biden and his aides are particularly sensitive to questions about his age. at 81, he’s the oldest ever president, and he’s seeking another four year term. at a news conference, house speaker mike johnson says the american people will not get to hear the president’s special counsel interview. hur, a former senior official in the trump administration justice department, was appointed as a special counsel in january 2023 following the discovery of classified documents in multiple locations tied to biden. hur’s report said many of the documents recovered at the penn biden center in washington, in parts of biden’s delaware home, and in his senate papers at the university of delaware were retained by “mistake.” however, investigators did find evidence of willful retention and disclosure related to a subset of records found in biden’s wilmington, delaware, house, including in a garage, an office and a basement den. the files pertain to a troop surge in afghanistan during the obama administration that biden had vigorously opposed. biden kept records that documented his position, including a classified letter to obama during the 2009 thanksgiving holiday. some of that information was shared with a ghostwriter with whom he published memoirs in 2007 and 2017. associated press reporters zeke miller and eric tucker in washington contributed. copyright 2025 the associated press. all rights reserved.

trump administration supported by four republicans opposed the bid to fine the attorney general $10,000 a day for his refusal to comply with a congressional subpoena for recordings of the president’s interview with a special counsel. by maya c. miller reporting from capitol hill the house on thursday defeated a republican measure that would impose a $10,000 a day fine on attorney general merrick b. garland for his refusal to turn over audio recordings of president biden’s interview with a special counsel who raised questions about his age and memory. the resolution   the latest bid by republicans to force mr. garland to turn over the recordings   failed after four republicans broke with their party to oppose it, joining democrats who voted “no” en masse. the vote was 210 to 204 against holding mr. garland in “inherent contempt” of congress, a maneuver that authorizes certain penalties for people who defy a congressional subpoena. in this case, the resolution, sponsored by representative anna paulina luna, republican of florida and an outspoken ally of former president donald j. trump, called for fining mr. garland and the justice department $10,000 each day until they provide the recordings in question. republican representatives john duarte and tom mcclintock of california, along with david joyce and michael r. turner of ohio, broke ranks to oppose the measure. that was enough to sink it in the house, where the g.o.p. holds a tiny majority. at issue was audio from mr. biden’s interviews with the special counsel robert k. hur, who investigated his handling of classified documents. mr. hur concluded that mr. biden should not face criminal charges, but he included a line in his investigative report that handed republicans significant political ammunition, calling the president a “well meaning, elderly man with a poor memory.” that characterization has taken on new significance in the wake of mr. biden’s disastrous debate performance last month, in which he struggled to express himself clearly, trailed off repeatedly and appeared to lose his train of thought. that has led to a major crisis for his re election bid, as democrats question his viability and some call for him to drop out of the race.

the attorney general has refused to turn over the tape of biden's interview. house republicans on wednesday afternoon passed a resolution to hold attorney general merrick garland in contempt of congress for refusing to turn over audio of president joe biden's interview with special counsel robert hur on his handling of classified documents. the final vote was 216 to 207. rep. david joyce of ohio was the only republican who voted against the contempt resolution. speaker mike johnson called the outcome "a significant step in maintaining the integrity of our oversight processes and responsibilities." "it is up to congress   not the executive branch   to determine what materials it needs to conduct its own investigations, and there are consequences for refusing to comply with lawful congressional subpoenas," johnson said in a statement. garland, in response, said it was "deeply disappointing that this house of representatives has turned a serious congressional authority into a partisan weapon." "today's vote disregards the constitutional separation of powers, the justice department's need to protect its investigations, and the substantial amount of information we have provided to the committees," garland said in a statement. "i will always stand up for this department, its employees, and its vital mission to defend our democracy." while the department of justice has made a transcript of hur's interview with biden available to the gop led committees, house republicans argue the audio tapes are necessary to their stalled impeachment investigation into the president. "the committees need the audio tapes to verify the accuracy of the written transcripts given this white house has been known to heavily edit the president's statements," johnson said. "this is a simple matter    we have the transcript, and we need the audio." the contempt resolution directs the house speaker to refer the case to the u.s. attorney for the district of columbia for possible criminal prosecution. before the house judiciary committee last week, garland continued to defend his decision to not turn over audio tapes of the interview, over which president biden assert executive privilege. "i will not be intimidated. and the justice department will not be intimidated. we will continue to do our jobs free from political influence. and we will not back down from defending our democracy," garland said at the hearing. democrats have also come to garland's defense, describing the gop push to hold him in contempt a politically motivated endeavor. "this isn't really about a policy disagreement with the doj, this is about feeding the maga base after 18 months of investigations that have produced failure after failure," democratic rep. jerry nadler, the ranking member of the house judiciary committee, said in testimony tuesday before the house rules committee. joyce, the sole republican to vote against the resolution, also suggested it was a partisan act. "as a former prosecutor, i cannot in good conscience support a resolution that would further politicize our judicial system to score political points," joyce said. "the american people expect congress to work for them, solve policy problems, and prioritize good governance. enough is enough." in the past, congress has held cabinet officials in contempt of congress for refusing to comply with a house subpoena, including attorney general william barr and commerce secretary wilbur ross in 2019 and then attorney general eric holder in 2012. congress held peter navarro, a former top trade adviser in the trump administration, in contempt of congress in 2022 for defying records and testimony to the now defunct house select committee investigating the jan. 6 attack on the u.s. capitol. navarro was recently sentenced to four months behind bars. steve bannon, a trump ally who was also held in contempt of congress in 2022 for not complying with the jan. 6 select committee, has been ordered to report to jail on july 1.

print the house rejected a gop effort thursday to fine attorney general merrick garland $10,000 a day until he turns over audio of president joe biden's interview in his classified documents case as a handful of republicans resisted taking an aggressive step against a sitting cabinet official. even if the resolution   titled inherent contempt   had passed, it was unclear how the fine would be enforced as the dispute over the tape of biden's interview with special counsel robert hur is now playing out in court. the house voted 204 210, with four republicans joining all democrats, to halt a republican resolution that would have imposed the fine, effectively rebuffing the latest effort by gop lawmakers to assert its enforcement powers   weeks after biden asserted executive privilege to block the release of the recording. "this is not a decision that we have reached lightly but the actions of the attorney general cannot be ignored," rep. anna paulina luna, r fla., the resolution's lead sponsors, said during debate wednesday. "no one is above the law." the house earlier this year made garland the third attorney general in u.s. history to be held in contempt of congress. but the justice department said garland would not be prosecuted, citing the agency's "longstanding position and uniform practice" to not prosecute officials who don't comply with subpoenas because of a president's claim of executive privilege. democrats blasted the gop effort as another political stunt. rep. jim mcgovern, d mass., said that the resolution is unjustified in the case of garland because he has complied with subpoena. "their frustration is that they can't get their hands on an audio recording that they think they could turn into an rnc attack ad," mcgovern said in reference to the republican national committee. "when you start making a mockery of things like inherent contempt you diminish this institution." garland himself has defended the justice department, saying officials have gone to extraordinary lengths to provide information to the committees about hur's classified documents investigation, including a transcript of biden's interview. however, garland has said releasing the audio could jeopardize future sensitive investigations because witnesses might be less likely to cooperate if they know their interviews might become public. house republicans sued garland earlier this month in an attempt to force the release of the recording. republicans have accused biden of suppressing the recording because he's afraid to have voters hear it during an election year. the white house and democratic lawmakers, meanwhile, have slammed republicans' motives for pursuing contempt and dismissed their efforts to obtain the audio as purely political. the congressional inquiry began with the release of hur's report in february, which found evidence that biden willfully retained and shared highly classified information when he was a private citizen. yet the special counsel concluded that criminal charges were not warranted. republicans, incensed by hur's decision, issued a subpoena for audio of his interviews with biden during the spring. but the justice department turned over only some of the records, leaving out audio of the interview with the president. beyond the bitingly critical assessment of biden's handling of sensitive government records, hur offered unflattering characterizations of the democratic president's memory in his report, sparking fresh questions about his competency and age that cut at voters' most deep seated concerns about the 81 year old seeking a second term.

garland, in response, called the vote "deeply disappointing." house republicans on wednesday afternoon passed a resolution to hold attorney general merrick garland in contempt of congress for refusing to turn over audio of president joe biden's interview with special counsel robert hur on his handling of classified documents. the final vote was 216 to 207. rep. david joyce of ohio was the only republican who voted against the contempt resolution. speaker mike johnson called the outcome "a significant step in maintaining the integrity of our oversight processes and responsibilities." "it is up to congress   not the executive branch   to determine what materials it needs to conduct its own investigations, and there are consequences for refusing to comply with lawful congressional subpoenas," johnson said in a statement. garland, in response, said it was "deeply disappointing that this house of representatives has turned a serious congressional authority into a partisan weapon." "today's vote disregards the constitutional separation of powers, the justice department's need to protect its investigations, and the substantial amount of information we have provided to the committees," garland said in a statement. "i will always stand up for this department, its employees, and its vital mission to defend our democracy." while the department of justice has made a transcript of hur's interview with biden available to the gop led committees, house republicans argue the audio tapes are necessary to their stalled impeachment investigation into the president. "the committees need the audio tapes to verify the accuracy of the written transcripts given this white house has been known to heavily edit the president's statements," johnson said. "this is a simple matter    we have the transcript, and we need the audio." the contempt resolution directs the house speaker to refer the case to the u.s. attorney for the district of columbia for possible criminal prosecution. before the house judiciary committee last week, garland continued to defend his decision to not turn over audio tapes of the interview, over which president biden assert executive privilege. "i will not be intimidated. and the justice department will not be intimidated. we will continue to do our jobs free from political influence. and we will not back down from defending our democracy," garland said at the hearing. democrats have also come to garland's defense, describing the gop push to hold him in contempt a politically motivated endeavor. "this isn't really about a policy disagreement with the doj, this is about feeding the maga base after 18 months of investigations that have produced failure after failure," democratic rep. jerry nadler, the ranking member of the house judiciary committee, said in testimony tuesday before the house rules committee. joyce, the sole republican to vote against the resolution, also suggested it was a partisan act. "as a former prosecutor, i cannot in good conscience support a resolution that would further politicize our judicial system to score political points," joyce said. "the american people expect congress to work for them, solve policy problems, and prioritize good governance. enough is enough.” in the past, congress has held cabinet officials in contempt of congress for refusing to comply with a house subpoena, including attorney general william barr and commerce secretary wilbur ross in 2019 and then attorney general eric holder in 2012. congress held peter navarro, a former top trade adviser in the trump administration, in contempt of congress in 2022 for defying records and testimony to the now defunct house select committee investigating the jan. 6 attack on the u.s. capitol. navarro was recently sentenced to four months behind bars. steve bannon, a trump ally who was also held in contempt of congress in 2022 for not complying with the jan. 6 select committee, has been ordered to report to jail on july 1. 24/7 coverage of breaking news and live events

watch cbs news by caitlin yilek updated on: june 12, 2024 / 6:44 pm edt / cbs news washington   the house voted wednesday to hold attorney general merrick garland in contempt of congress, escalating a fight over audio recordings related to president biden's handling of classified documents. garland has defied subpoenas from the republican led house judiciary and oversight committees demanding that the justice department hand over the audiotapes of the president's interview with special counsel robert hur as part of their impeachment inquiry. mr. biden asserted executive privilege over the recordings of hur's interviews with the president and the ghostwriter of his book as the committees moved forward with contempt resolutions against garland in may. the resolution passed by a vote of 216 to 207, with all but one republican voting to back it. rep. david joyce of ohio was the sole republican to vote with democrats. "it is deeply disappointing that this house of representatives has turned a serious congressional authority into a partisan weapon," garland said in a statement. a vote on the house floor had been up in the air since the committees voted along party lines last month to recommend garland be held in contempt. it was unclear up until the vote whether republicans actually had enough support to pass the measure   they could only afford to lose two defections with their razor thin majority if all members were present and voting. but house speaker mike johnson, a louisiana republican, pushed ahead despite the uncertainty. "this decision was not made lightly but is essential to ensure transparency and accountability within the special counsel's office," johnson said in a statement after the vote. "it is up to congress   not the executive branch   to determine what materials it needs to conduct its own investigations, and there are consequences for refusing to comply with lawful congressional subpoenas." the resolution directs the house speaker to refer the case to the u.s. attorney for the district of columbia for potential criminal prosecution. the justice department is unlikely to prosecute garland, who leads the department. last month, justice department officials wrote a legal memo, which was obtained by cbs news, that argued against prosecution. "no u.s. attorney has pursued criminal contempt charges against an executive branch official asserting the president's claim of executive privilege," the memo said. a house judiciary committee report argued the audio recordings of the interviews are of "superior evidentiary value" because the transcripts the justice department provided congress "do not reflect important verbal context, such as tone or tenor, or nonverbal context, such as pauses or pace of delivery." it also asserts the transcripts are "insufficient to arbitrate this dispute as to president biden's mental state." hur, who was appointed by garland, released a 345 page report in february that outlined mr. biden's handling of classified documents that he kept after serving as vice president. hur declined to seek criminal charges, saying the evidence did not establish beyond a reasonable doubt that mr. biden violated the law. the special counsel made a number of observations about the president's memory that enraged the white house and provided political leverage to republicans. "we know we're entitled to all the evidence and the best evidence, and the transcripts alone are not sufficient evidence of the state of the president's memory," rep. jim jordan of ohio, the republican chairman of the house judiciary committee, said wednesday. republicans say executive privilege was waived when the justice department turned over the transcripts, and also claim the transcripts have been altered. the justice department has argued disclosure of the recordings could have a chilling effect on witness cooperation in future high profile investigations. "i view contempt as a serious matter," garland said at a judiciary committee hearing on june 4. "but i will not jeopardize the ability of our prosecutors and agents to do their jobs effectively in future investigations." democrats have called the effort a political stunt and say the justice department has cooperated substantially with gop requests in its impeachment investigation, which stalled earlier this year after testimony from the president's son, hunter biden, failed to deliver a smoking gun. rep. jamie raskin of maryland, the top democrat on the house oversight committee, said wednesday the vote was the gop's attempt "to distract from the spectacular flop that is their impeachment drive." raskin asserted republicans want access to the audio recordings of mr. biden's interview "so they can make some political tv attack ads." cabinet officials being held in contempt of congress is not without precedent. in 2019, the democratic controlled house voted to hold attorney general william barr and commerce secretary wilbur ross in contempt for defying congressional subpoenas related to a dispute over the 2020 census. the republican led house voted to hold attorney general eric holder in contempt in 2012 over his failure to turn over documents related to the fast and furious scandal. ellis kim, jaala brown and andres triay contributed reporting. caitlin yilek is a politics reporter at cbsnews.com, based in washington, d.c. she previously worked for the washington examiner and the hill, and was a member of the 2022 paul miller washington reporting fellowship with the national press foundation. © 2024 cbs interactive inc. all rights reserved. copyright ©2025 cbs interactive inc. all rights reserved.

by carrie johnson , ryan lucas attorney general merrick garland win mcnamee/getty images hide caption attorney general merrick garland president biden has asserted executive privilege over the audio recordings of his interview with special counsel robert hur about biden's handling of classified documents, according to the white house and the justice department. the move comes as the republican led house judiciary and oversight committees are expected to advance a resolution to hold attorney general merrick garland in contempt of congress for refusing to provide the panels with the interview audio. "because of the president's longstanding commitment to protecting the integrity, effectiveness, and independence of the department of justice and its law enforcement investigations, he has decided to assert executive privilege over the recordings," edward siskel, counsel to the president, wrote in a letter to rep. jim jordan, chairman of the house judiciary committee, and rep. james comer, chairman of the house oversight committee. house republicans are demanding the department turn over audio recordings of the interview special counsel hur conducted with biden in october 2023, about biden's handling of classified documents after leaving the obama administration. they also want the audio recording of hur's interview with biden's ghostwriter, mark zwonitzer. in his report, hur described biden as "an elderly man with a poor memory," remarks that angered the white house and its democratic allies. house republicans have pressed their demands for the audio itself, saying the committees get to determine what materials they need for their investigation, not the white house. at a hearing thursday, chairman jordan of the judiciary committee asserted the recordings are necessary because "the transcripts alone are not sufficient evidence of the state of the president's memory." the judiciary panel went on to vote along party lines to recommend garland be held in contempt. chairman comer, of the oversight committee, said in a written statement that the white house had already waived the privilege by giving lawmakers a transcript of the biden interview. "today's hail mary from the white house changes nothing for our committee," comer added. "the house oversight committee will move forward with its markup of a resolution and report recommending to the house of representatives that attorney general garland be held in contempt of congress for defying a lawful subpoena." in his letter, siskel noted disclosure of materials like the audio would make it less likely that witnesses in future high profile investigations will voluntarily cooperate. and, he noted: "the absence of a legitimate need for the audio recordings lays bare your likely goal to chop them up, distort them, and use them for partisan political purposes. demanding such sensitive and constitutionally protected law enforcement materials from the executive branch because you want to manipulate them for potential political gain is inappropriate." siskel added: "rather than demonstrating respect for the rule of law, this contempt proceeding is just the latest in the committees' damaging efforts to undermine the very independence and impartiality of the department of justice and criminal justice system that president biden seeks to protect." at the justice department thursday morning, attorney general garland told reporters that doj had gone above and beyond the call of duty to provide information to the republican led house panels. "we have gone to extraordinary lengths to ensure that the committees get responses to their legitimate requests but this is not one," garland said. "to the contrary, this is one that would harm our ability in the future to successfully pursue sensitive investigations." earlier, garland wrote in a letter to biden that the "audio recordings of your interview ... fall within the scope of executive privilege." his letter also cited audio recordings as an important investigative tool in high profile investigations. the justice department already has provided congress a transcript of the interview, helped facilitate hur's testimony before the committees, handed over two classified documents requested by the panels and provided correspondence regarding the special counsel's inquiry. "in short, the department has responded to each of the four requests in your subpoenas," assistant attorney general carlos felipe uriarte said in a letter to the committees. but he said the committees have failed to identified a need for the audio files of biden's interview with hur that would "serve the asserted purposes of your investigations." he also pushed back on house republicans' plan to hold garland in contempt over the matter, saying "a contempt citation is not justified on this record." "it is the longstanding position of the executive branch held by administrations of both parties that an official who asserts the president's claim of executive privilege cannot be prosecuted for criminal contempt of congress," uriarte said in his letter to the panels. "production of these recordings to the committees would raise an unacceptable risk of undermining the department's ability to conduct similar high profile criminal investigations in particular, investigations where the voluntary cooperation of white house officials is exceedingly important," he wrote. uriarte urged the committees to back away from their contempt votes, and noted that there is precedent for doing so. he said that in 2008, the house oversight committee withdrew a contempt vote after president george w. bush asserted executive privilege over the record of a special counsel interview of the vice president, dick cheney, in an investigation that centered on the disclosure of the identity of a cia official. in his brief public remarks thursday morning, the attorney general cast the house move as part of a broader, partisan campaign against the institution of the justice department. garland alluded to remarks by house members trying to defund the office of special counsel jack smith, who has obtained two indictments of former president donald trump. "there have been a series of unprecedented and frankly unfounded attacks on the justice department," garland said. "this request, this effort to use contempt as a method of obtaining our sensitive law enforcement files is just the most recent. the effort to threaten to defund our investigations and the way in which there are contributions to an atmosphere that puts our agents and our prosecutors at risk, these are wrong." garland said he would continue to "protect this building and its people." sponsor message become an npr sponsor

profile sections local tv featured more from nbc follow nbc news news alerts there are no new alerts at this time washington   the republican controlled house narrowly voted wednesday to hold attorney general merrick garland in contempt of congress, a major escalation in the gop's war against a justice system the party has portrayed as unfairly targeting donald trump. the vote was 216 207, with one republican, rep. david joyce of ohio, joining all democrats in voting no. seven democrats and one republican didn't vote. at issue was garland's failure to hand over audio of special counsel robert hur's interview with president joe biden about his handling of classified documents. republicans had demanded the audio after hur declined to prosecute biden, in part, because a jury might sympathize with him as an "elderly man with a poor memory." democrats countered that the full transcript of the biden interview has already been released to the public, and they sounded warnings that republicans could manipulate the audio. despite the successful contempt vote, it’s largely a political exercise. biden and his administration have asserted executive privilege in refusing to hand over the audio, all but eliminating the possibility that garland would be prosecuted for ignoring the subpoenas. it’s also unheard of for justice department prosecutors to go after the head of their agency over a contempt issue. last month, both the house judiciary and oversight committees approved a report recommending that the house hold garland in contempt for defying congressional subpoenas pertaining to the audio recording. after wednesday's vote, speaker mike johnson, r la., argued that the pair of committees need the audio to verify the accuracy of the transcripts. “it is up to congress   not the executive branch   to determine what materials it needs to conduct its own investigations, and there are consequences for refusing to comply with lawful congressional subpoenas," johnson said in a statement. "congress has a responsibility to conduct oversight of the special counsel’s work and specifically special counsel hur’s determination not to prosecute president biden for the clear violation of the law." garland condemned the house's action in a statement after the vote. “it is deeply disappointing that this house of representatives has turned a serious congressional authority into a partisan weapon," garland said in a statement. "today’s vote disregards the constitutional separation of powers, the justice department’s need to protect its investigations, and the substantial amount of information we have provided to the committees." "i will always stand up for this department, its employees, and its vital mission to defend our democracy," he said. rep. jerry nadler of new york, the top democrat on the judiciary committee, said republicans are targeting garland after they failed to come up with enough evidence to impeach biden. “what do our republican friends do when an investigation turns up short? simply put, they engage in fantasy. that’s what they’re doing here today. unable to come up with any wrongdoing by the president, they have now trained their sights on the attorney general,” nadler said. “this isn’t really about a policy disagreement with the doj. this is about feeding the maga base after 18 months of investigations that have produced failure after failure," nadler continued. "this contempt resolution will do very little other than smear the reputation of merrick garland, who will remain a good and decent public servant no matter what republicans say about him today.” the full house vote was always going to be a nail biter given the gop’s paper thin majority. even with rep. vince fong, r calif., having been sworn in last week to fill the vacancy left by former speaker kevin mccarthy’s resignation, the republicans can afford only two gop defections on any vote. just three gop no votes would have killed the contempt effort with all members voting. joyce, the only republican who voted against contempt, said in a statement that he couldn't support the politicization of the justice system. “as a former prosecutor, i cannot in good conscience support a resolution that would further politicize our judicial system to score political points," he said. "the american people expect congress to work for them, solve policy problems, and prioritize good governance. enough is enough.” johnson and his leadership team had expressed confidence about their whip count as they moved the measure to the floor. a handful of vulnerable republicans, including mike lawler and marc molinaro of new york, said they would vote yes. rep. don bacon, r neb., another top democratic target in november, voiced reluctance about contempt but said he also would support it, arguing that the public deserves to hear the audio. “i wish this could be settled without a contempt vote. but, the attorney general owes the american people the audio recording regardless. when special prosecutor hur showed that president biden willfully kept classified info in his house and garage, then the comparisons with what doj is prosecuting president trump on becomes more similar,” bacon said in a statement. “trump is being prosecuted, but hur claims president biden is too elderly with a bad memory to ever be taken to court. this is a very significant claim to make concerning our current president and the democrat nominee,” bacon added. “the citizens deserve to evaluate this for themselves.” garland isn't the first attorney general to have been held in contempt by a house controlled by the opposing party. the house voted to hold trump’s attorney general, william barr, in contempt of congress in 2019, while it held barack obama’s ag, eric holder, in contempt in 2012 over his refusal to hand over documents related to the fast and furious probe. neither were prosecuted. judiciary committee chairman jim jordan, r ohio, suggested house republicans could sue to obtain the audio recording of biden. "we assume this is going to wind up in court," jordan said before wednesday's vote, adding: "we think our case is strong, and we think that we will prevail." the contempt vote is just the latest push by republicans to portray a “two tiered” justice system   one that criminally prosecutes and convicts trump but lets biden off the hook. house republicans have railed against what they see as the “weaponization” of government and the justice system against trump and his allies, even forming a special weaponization committee to investigate. meanwhile, on tuesday, the justice department secured a conviction against the president's son hunter biden on gun charges, and the justice department is leading prosecutions against two democratic members of congress on bribery charges. roughly a year ago, a federal grand jury indicted trump on dozens of felony counts related to his handling of classified documents after his presidency. but on feb. 8, hur announced that, following a monthslong probe, he would decline to prosecute biden for his handling of classified documents. hur said biden’s practices of retaining and disclosing classified material after he was vice president “present serious risks to national security.” but he explained that he didn’t pursue charges because it would be difficult to get a jury to convict him   "by then a former president well into his eighties   of a serious felony that requires a mental state of willfulness.” garland testified before the house judiciary committee last week that he had provided the panel with the hur report, allowed hur to testify “for more than five hours” and “gone beyond precedent” to give the committee the transcripts of the hur biden interview. but he argued that turning over the audio recording would “chill cooperation with the department in future investigations” and “could influence witnesses’ answers if they thought the audio of their law enforcement interviews would be broadcast to congress and the public.” garland went on to condemn the contempt push, calling it “only the most recent in a long line of attacks on the justice department’s work.” “it comes alongside threats to defund particular department investigations, most recently the special counsel’s prosecution of the former president. it comes alongside false claims that a jury verdict in a state trial by a local district attorney was somehow controlled by the justice department,” garland continued, referring to the new york hush money case against trump. “that conspiracy theory is an attack on the judicial process itself.” scott wong is a senior congressional reporter for nbc news. rebecca is a producer and off air reporter covering congress for nbc news, managing coverage of the house. © 2025 nbcuniversal media, llc
trump administration supported by the attorney general has refused republican demands to turn over audio recordings by the special counsel who investigated the president’s handling of classified documents. by luke broadwater reporting from the capitol house republicans on wednesday muscled through a measure recommending that attorney general merrick b. garland be held in contempt of congress for failing to comply with a subpoena. the g.o.p. acted over democratic opposition after the justice department declined to provide audio recordings of president biden’s interview with the special counsel investigating his handling of classified documents. by a nearly party line vote of 216 to 207, the house called for punishing mr. garland in its drive to compel the executive branch to produce the materials. “we have to defend the constitution; we have to defend the authority of congress,” speaker mike johnson said before the vote. “we can’t allow the department of justice and an executive branch agency to hide information from congress.” the move came less than two weeks after former president donald j. trump’s felony conviction in new york on charges that he falsified business records to cover up a hush money payment to a porn star, and at a time when republicans have escalated their claims that the justice department under mr. biden has carried out a vendetta against conservatives, particularly their party’s leader. in a statement, mr. garland said it was “deeply disappointing that this house of representatives has turned a serious congressional authority into a partisan weapon.” he added, “i will always stand up for this department, its employees and its vital mission to defend our democracy.”

copyright 2025 the associated press. all rights reserved. file   attorney general merrick garland speaks during a news conference at the department of justice headquarters in washington, june 27, 2024. the house has voted to fine attorney general merrick garland $10,000 a day until he turns over audio of president joe biden’s interview in his classified documents case. it’s the latest escalation in the fight over the recording between republicans and the democratic administration. (ap photo/jose luis magana, file) washington (ap)   house republicans on monday filed a lawsuit against attorney general merrick garland for the audio recording of president joe biden’s interview with a special counsel in his classified documents case, asking the courts to enforce their subpoena and reject the white house’s effort to withhold the materials from congress. the lawsuit filed by the house judiciary committee marks republicans’ latest broadside against the justice department as partisan conflict over the rule of law animates the 2024 presidential campaign. the legal action comes weeks after the white house blocked garland from releasing the audio recording to congress by asserting executive privilege. republicans in the house responded by voting to make garland the third attorney general in u.s. history to be held in contempt of congress. but the justice department refused to take up the contempt referral, citing the agency’s “longstanding position and uniform practice” to not prosecute officials who don’t comply with subpoenas because of a president’s claim of executive privilege. the lawsuit states that speaker mike johnson, r la., made a “last ditch effort” last week to garland to resolve the issue without taking legal action but the attorney general referred the republicans to the white house, which rebuffed the “effort to find a solution to this impasse.” garland has defended the justice department, saying officials have gone to extraordinary lengths to provide information to the committees about special counsel robert hur’s classified documents investigation, including a transcript of biden’s interview with him.