Washington– A Republican-led effort to hold Attorney General Merrick Garland in contempt of Congress failed on Thursday, without enough support among House Republicans for a resolution imposing a $10,000-a-day fine on Garland for opposing a congressional subpoena.
In a vote of 204 to 210, four Republicans voted with all Democrats to oppose the measure.
Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, Republican of Florida, forced the vote, which has been threatened in recent weeks, warning that if Garland does not comply with the subpoena for the audio recording of the interview about the handling of secret documents of President Biden, she will move forward with the tool, which has been rarely used, especially in the present day.
Luna originally intended to bring a resolution that could have resulted in Garland’s arrest, but chose to move forward with a day-by-day approach amid pushback from his GOP colleagues.
“In order for the House of Representatives to do its job, we must have access to information that will allow us to make appropriate decisions on behalf of our constituents,” Luna said on the floor of the House of Representatives on Wednesday. “We have no choice but to rely on existing contempt, the constitutional authority to hold individuals accountable for disobeying congressional demands.”
House Republicans are seeking audio recordings of the president’s interview with special counsel Robert Hur, which was part of an investigation that wrapped up earlier this year. Although the Judiciary and House Oversight committees have asked the Justice Department to provide the tapes as part of an impeachment investigation into the president, the president. asserting executive privilege through the recording in May. But that did not prevent House Republicans from voting to hold Garland in contempt of Congress for refusing to hand over the record in a vote last month.
While the move to hold Garland in contempt marks an escalation, it is not without precedent. In 2012, former Attorney General Eric Holder was arrested, as was former attorney general Bill Barr in 2019. Both did not face criminal charges from their respective Justice Departments.
Absent compliance, contempt is one of three official methods Congress can use, according to a 2017 report from the Congressional Research Service. The report notes that the “long-dormant” contempt power allows Congress to detain and imprison individuals until they comply and “there may be an argument for imposing monetary fines as an alternative.” Another method involves relying on other branches of government to enforce subpoenas.
But the report emphasized that there is no precedent for Congress imposing fines in contempt of Congress. And a 2019 report from the Congressional Research Service notes that “even if Congress retains this authority, it is unclear how the fines will be imposed and, if the contemnor refuses to submit the amount, collected.”
A Justice Department spokeswoman told CBS News that the move was “unconstitutional.”
“We are confident that our arguments will stand up in court,” the spokesman said.
Democrats strongly opposed the resolution, demanding that Republicans seek only the audio to use in attack ads against the president.
“This is a stupid resolution,” said Rep. Jim McGovern, Democrat of Massachusetts. “The Attorney General turned over the transcript of the interview requested by the Republicans, but it was not good enough…
Luna’s privilege motion, which bypasses House leaders to get a floor vote, requires leaders to schedule a vote within two legislative days. Speaker Mike Johnson indicated before the vote that he would vote against the resolution, though he said his preference would be to continue seeking relief through the courts.
“I’m being as aggressive as possible in holding Merrick Garland accountable,” Johnson said at a press conference on Tuesday.
House leadership so far seems inclined to seek enforcement of subpoenas, especially since President Joe Biden’s poor debate performance led to increased calls for access to audio recordings that also raised alarm among Democrats about the president’s fitness for another term earlier this year. . House Judiciary Committee file a lawsuit earlier this month to the Department of Justice to enforce the subpoena.
Former President Donald Trump came out in support of the move on Wednesday, saying he agreed with the move to hold Garland in contempt in a social media post. “Republicans need to be HARD on stopping guns and lying,” he wrote.