The Justice Department on Friday said it has declined to prosecute Attorney General Merrick Garland for contempt of Congress, according to a letter obtained by ABC News.
The House of Representatives voted Wednesday to send a contempt referral to the Justice Department. House Republicans had demanded Garland turn over the audio of President Joe Biden‘s interview with special counsel Robert Hur to the House Oversight and Judiciary committees and Garland refused.
“Consistent with this longstanding position and uniform practice, the Department has determined that the responses by Attorney General Garland to the subpoenas issued by the Committees did not constitute a crime, and accordingly the Department will not bring the congressional contempt citation before a grand jury or take any other action to prosecute the Attorney General,” the Justice Department said.
Attorney General Merrick Garland testifies during a House Judiciary Committee hearing on the Department of Justice, on June 4, 2024, on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C.
Jacquelyn Martin/AP
The letter to House Speaker Mike Johnson cites what it called longstanding policy against prosecuting an attorney general.
Speaker of the House Mike Johnson speaks at a press conference following a House Republican conference meeting at the U.S. Capitol on June 12, 2024, in Washington, D.C.
Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images
After Wednesday’s House vote, 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,” he 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.”
President Joe Biden asserted executive privilege over the recording of his Hur interview.
The Justice Department said executive privilege holds in this case as has in many others.
For example, the Justice Department took the same position in 2019 after then President Donald Trump asserted executive privilege after Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross and Attorney General William Barr did not turn over certain documents to the House Oversight Committee.
The Department of Justice recently announced that they will not be prosecuting Attorney General Merrick Garland following the approval of a contempt resolution by House Republicans. This decision comes after weeks of political turmoil and tension between the Biden administration and congressional Republicans.
The contempt resolution was approved by House Republicans in response to Garland’s refusal to comply with a subpoena issued by the House Oversight Committee. The subpoena requested documents related to the Justice Department’s handling of investigations into alleged voter fraud during the 2020 presidential election.
Garland’s decision to withhold the requested documents was based on the principle of executive privilege, which allows the president and his administration to keep certain communications and documents confidential in order to protect the integrity of the executive branch. However, House Republicans argued that Garland’s refusal to comply with the subpoena was an obstruction of Congress and a violation of their oversight responsibilities.
In response to the contempt resolution, the Department of Justice conducted a thorough review of the situation and ultimately decided not to pursue criminal charges against Garland. In a statement, a spokesperson for the Department of Justice explained that while they take congressional oversight seriously, they believe that Garland’s actions were justified in order to protect the integrity of ongoing investigations and maintain the confidentiality of sensitive information.
This decision has sparked mixed reactions from both Democrats and Republicans. Some Democrats have praised the Department of Justice for standing by Garland and upholding the principle of executive privilege, while Republicans have criticized the decision as a failure to hold Garland accountable for his actions.
Moving forward, it is likely that tensions between the Biden administration and congressional Republicans will continue to escalate as both sides navigate the delicate balance between executive privilege and congressional oversight. The decision not to prosecute Garland sets a precedent for future disputes between the branches of government and underscores the importance of maintaining transparency and accountability in our democracy.
