Staff Reports
Attorney General Merrick Garland is set to appear before the House Judiciary Committee on June 4. This follows the committee’s finding of him in contempt of Congress for refusing to hand over audio tapes of an interview with President Biden by a special counsel. The appearance is related to “broad oversight,” according to a source.
FBI Director Christopher Wray is also scheduled to testify on July 24, facing increased scrutiny from the GOP over what they see as the Department of Justice’s targeting of conservatives, particularly former President Trump.
Merrick Garland, facing contempt vote, will testify before Congress next monthhttps://t.co/4fq2UqQq5P pic.twitter.com/FxbP2cXic7
— The Washington Times (@WashTimes) May 21, 2024
While the House GOP leadership has not yet scheduled a vote on the contempt resolution against Garland, Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, a Florida Republican, is working on a separate resolution that could lead to Garland’s potential arrest. This resolution, known as “inherent contempt,” would allow the House to detain and imprison individuals found in contempt until they comply with congressional demands.
Garland has pushed back against the GOP’s contempt resolution, calling the attacks on the Justice Department “unprecedented and unfounded.” The Justice Department has also defended its decision to withhold the tapes, citing concerns about damaging future law enforcement efforts and questioning the legitimacy of the demand for the recordings.
The White House has weighed in, with White House Counsel Ed Siskel accusing the efforts to obtain the recordings as politically motivated and lacking a legitimate purpose beyond partisan political use.
If the contempt resolution passes, it would be forwarded to the Justice Department, and it’s expected to be ignored. The tense situation between the GOP and the Justice Department continues to unfold as the debate over the audio tapes and the broader oversight of the Department of Justice remains a point of contention.
