Congress aiming to hold U.S. attorney general in contempt
Joe Biden looks on as Attorney General Merrick Garland delivers remarks during a Medal of Valor ceremony, Monday, May 16, 2022, in the East Room of the White House. (Official White House photo by Adam Schultz)
The substance of special counsel Robert Hur's investigation into Joe Biden's decision to take and keep classified government documents to which he was not entitled long has been known.
Biden likely violated the law, but Hur recommended against charges because of Biden's "diminished" capabilities.
But Congress has wanted more details, specifically the audio recordings of Hur's interview with Biden in which Biden forgot key dates and events.
And Biden's attorney general, Merrick Garland, has refused, prompting Congress to set out a path to hold him in contempt.
The Washington Examiner reports it is the House Judiciary Committee aiming for a contempt of Congress citation for Garland.
A review of the plan now is scheduled for May 16, the report said.
The Examiner said, "The committee’s decision to move forward with contempt marks a dramatic escalation in its months-long fight to obtain recordings of Biden’s interview, which former special counsel Robert Hur conducted last October."
Hur's investigation concluded that Biden mishandled classified documents from his time as senator and vice president. Biden even gave some of that classified information to a ghostwriter.
U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland testifies before the House Judiciary Committee on Wednesday, Sept. 20, 2023.
But Hur found Biden realistically could present to the jury a reasonable doubt because he could be seen as a "sympathetic, well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory."
In contrast, the Biden administration has leveled a long list of felonies against President Trump for keeping papers from his own time in the Oval Office, despite reports that the government itself sent those documents to Trump's home, and the prosecutor's admission that investigators altered the evidence in the case.
The report said the audio recordings of Biden could shed more light on Biden's mental fitness, or incapacities, as the case may be.
The report explained when a contempt case is approved by the House, a criminal referral is made to federal prosecutors in Washington.
However, the report noted the politicization of the prosecutors' office in Washington makes it unlikely Garland would face repercussions.
WND reported only days ago when DOJ officials scolded Congress for asking for information.
"We urge the committees to avoid conflict rather than seek it," charged assistant attorney general Carlos Uriarte in a recent letter to members of Congress.
The DOJ claimed that releasing the audio of the interviews could make it harder in the future for prosecutors to get cooperation from witnesses.
Uriarte claimed the DOJ already had given Congress "the information you saw you need."
"To go further by producing the audio files would compound the likelihood that future prosecutors will be unable to secure this level of cooperation. They might have a harder time obtaining consent to an interview at all. It is clearly not in the public interest to render such cooperation with prosecutors and investigators less likely in the future," he claimed.
The House Oversight and Judiciary committees are among those involved in the investigation of Biden's behaviors as potential support for an impeachment.
Hur confirmed he found Biden "willfully" retained classified material but stopped short of filing charges.
The report also confirmed what is known about Biden: He "became muddled about the dates he was vice president and could not even remember the year in which his son Beau died," the report said.
For 25 years, WND has boldly brought you the news that really matters. If you appreciate our Christian journalists and their uniquely truthful reporting and analysis, please help us by becoming a WND Insider!
Content created by the WND News Center is available for re-publication without charge to any eligible news publisher that can provide a large audience. For licensing opportunities of our original content, please contact licensing@wndnewscenter.org.
SUPPORT TRUTHFUL JOURNALISM. MAKE A DONATION TO THE NONPROFIT WND NEWS CENTER. THANK YOU!
The post Congress aiming to hold U.S. attorney general in contempt appeared first on WND.