Justice Department won’t prosecute AG for contempt of Congress

The Department of Justice on Friday wrote to Congress that it would not prosecute U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland. Lawmakers in the House of Representatives voted 216-207 along party lines this week to hold Garland in contempt for not handing over subpoenaed audio tapes of Justice Department Special Counsel Robert Hur’s interviews with President Joe Biden. Hur interviewed Biden on October 8th and 9th of last year as part of his investigation into Biden’s possible mishandling of classified documents from his time as vice president.

Why is the Department of Justice declining to prosecute Garland? The DOJ wrote that Garland had not committed a crime in not handing over the audio tapes, because they were protected by executive privilege. The Justice Department had previously argued the tapes were protected by executive privilege in a letter to Congress last month. Transcripts of the interviews have become public, but House Republicans have also demanded the audio tapes. They say the tapes will help them better understand the president’s state of mind at the time of the discussions.

Dig deeper: Read Catherine Gripp’s report in The Sift on the House holding Garland in contempt earlier this week.