House of Representatives holds Attorney General Merrick Garland in contempt

The United States House of Representatives, with a Republican majority, approved this Wednesday a resolution declaring Attorney General Merrick Garland in contempt for refusing to publish recordings of President Joe Biden in a case of mishandling of classified documents.

The resolution, approved with 216 votes in favor and 207 against, is a new step in the Republican Party’s strategy to increase pressure on the Democratic Administration in the midst of the presidential election campaign on November 5.

Special prosecutor Robert Hur refused to prosecute Biden last February due to mishandling of classified documents from his time as vice president (2009-2017), although in a harsh report he questioned Biden’s memory and mental abilities.

In response, Republicans requested a recording of Hur’s interrogations of Biden, but the Justice Department rejected its release.

The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Republican Mike Johnson, defended this Wednesday declaring Garland in contempt because he considers it intolerable that the Department of Justice and the Executive Branch “hide information from Congress.”

After knowing the result of the vote, the attorney general, appointed by Biden in 2021, issued a statement in which he said that “it is deeply disappointing that the House of Representatives has turned a serious congressional authority into a partisan weapon.”

“Today’s vote ignores the constitutional separation of powers, the Justice Department’s need to protect its investigations and the substantial amount of information we have provided to the committees,” Garland stated.

The Department of Justice has so far hidden behind the fact that it did release a transcript of the content of Biden’s interrogation.

The Democratic minority in the Lower House accuses the Republicans of wanting to obtain that recording to distort it for political and electoral purposes.

Garland is the third prosecutor in the history of the United States declared in contempt by Congress, but it will be difficult for him to be prosecuted because the Department of Justice must decide later whether to follow up on him and he leads that cabinet.

CNN has also sued the Administration to access the recording of Biden’s interrogation.