President Joe Biden’s Department of Justice issued a memo Wednesday declaring that Attorney General Merrick Garland is protected from prosecution for contempt of Congress because of Biden’s use of executive privilege.
The memo’s release conveniently came hours before the House of Representatives took the long-anticipated step of voting to hold Garland in contempt of Congress for refusing to comply with Congressional subpoenas for records related to Special Counsel Robert Hur’s investigation of President Joe Biden’s willful mishandling of classified information.
Republicans wanted the audio tapes of Hur’s interview with Biden, insisting written transcripts provided by Garland were insufficient after Hur revealed that Biden experienced mental lapses and “poor memory” when interviewed.
The House Committees on Oversight and Accountability and Judiciary issued subpoenas to Garland on February 27, 2024 for records including audio recordings Garland insisted on withholding.
Despite the subpoenas, Garland refused to turn over the records.
