On Monday, the House Judiciary Committee filed a lawsuit against Attorney General Merrick Garland with the aim of obtaining the audio recordings of President Joe Biden’s interview with special counsel Robert Hur. The interview pertains to the President’s handling of classified documents following his departure from the vice presidency.
On Monday, a civil action lawsuit was filed in federal court in Washington. The lawsuit seeks an injunction that would require Garland to provide the House Judiciary Committee, chaired by Republican Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio, with audio recordings of the Special Counsel’s interviews with President Biden and his book ghostwriter, Mark Zwonitzer.
The House has been denied access to the audio recordings by Biden, who has claimed executive privilege. Although the transcripts of his two-day interview have been made public and amount to 258 pages, Garland and the Justice Department argue that executive privilege is a legitimate basis for withholding the recordings.
On the same day that the Supreme Court made a ruling stating that former President Donald Trump is immune from prosecution for official acts during his time in office, an event occurred.
The White House and Republicans on Capitol Hill have been embroiled in an ongoing partisan debate regarding the topic.
The GOP in Florida has recently revealed their plan to take Garland into custody by utilizing a procedural tool that is hardly used in the House. Last week, a House Republican made the announcement and stated that they will be working with the House sergeant-at-arms to carry out the plan.
In early June, the House Judiciary and Oversight Committees pushed a resolution that led to a vote of 216-207 in the House. The vote, largely along party lines, declared a contempt of Congress for Garland due to his refusal to provide the audio recordings of Biden’s interviews by Hur on October 8th and 9th, despite having the transcript.
After the vote, the House GOP was accused by the attorney general of transforming a crucial congressional authority into a tool for partisan gain. This was followed by a recent attempt by the GOP to hold Zwonitzer in contempt of Congress just a few days ago.
House Republicans have been eagerly waiting for audiotapes that were denied to them by the Justice Department, leading House Speaker Mike Johnson to seek a court order to obtain them from Attorney General Garland.
During Garland’s contempt of Congress vote, Johnson emphasized that it is Congress’ responsibility, not the executive branch’s, to decide on the necessary materials for their investigations. Refusing to comply with lawful Congressional subpoenas comes with consequences, according to Johnson.
