(UnitedHeadlines.com) – On July 11, the House voted 210-204 against holding Attorney General Merrick Garland in “inherent contempt” of Congress for refusing to provide Congress with the audio tapes of President Joe Biden.
The vote comes as Florida Rep. Anna Luna had originally proposed using a rare process known as “inherent contempt.” Under the “inherent contempt” resolution, Garland would be taken into custody by the House sergeant at arms over his refusal to turn over the audio tapes. Luna’s move was supported by Republican presidential candidate and former President Donald Trump, who wrote in a post on Truth Social, “I AGREE with Anna Paulina Luna.
While Democrats sought to table or kill the measure, Republicans also tried to prevent Luna from forcing a vote.
However, due to the pushback from Republicans during a closed-door meeting on July 9, Luna then proposed a resolution to fine Garland $10,000 per day if he did not comply with the congressional subpoena for the audio tapes.
Luna called the fine “a really incredible accountability mechanism.”
After the bill failed to pass, with four Republicans voting against it, Luna stated she planned to reintroduce the resolution, noting, “We are very confident it will pass.”
Republicans have sought to hold Garland in contempt of Congress after he refused to turn over the audio tapes of Biden’s interview with Special Counsel Robert Hur over Biden’s handling of classified documents. After the interview, Hur concluded Biden “willfully retained and disclosed classified materials” but would not be charged because Hur felt that Biden would be found to be a “well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory” in a trial.
In February, Garland was subpoenaed to turn over the transcripts, documents, and audio recordings related to Hur’s investigation. While Garland did provide the House with transcripts of the interview, he did not turn over the audio tapes, which Republicans thought would give a clearer picture of Biden’s cognitive decline.
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