1/ The Republican-controlled House voted to hold Attorney General Merrick Garland in contempt of Congress for refusing to turn over audio of Biden’s interview with special counsel Robert Hur, who investigated Biden’s handling of classified material and declined to bring charges. Despite the Justice Department previously making the full transcript public, Republicans on the House Oversight and Judiciary Committees issued two subpoenas for the audio recordings. Garland refused to turn over the audio, saying it would set a bad precedent to share audio for cases that do not lead to criminal charges. Garland also told lawmakers that he didn’t see a “legislative purpose” for Congress needing the audio when “the words are the same on the transcript as the audio.” Further, Biden asserted executive privilege over the recordings. Nevertheless, House Republicans argued that the audio recording was crucial to their impeachment inquiry into Biden, which remains stalled after their key witness was charged with lying. The vote was 216-207, and marks the third time a sitting attorney general was held in contempt of Congress. It is unlikely that the Justice Department — which Garland oversees — will prosecute him. (New York Times / Washington Post / Politico / Associated Press / Axios / CNN / NBC News)
This is a companion discussion topic for the original entry at https://whatthefuckjusthappenedtoday.com/2024/06/12/day-1240/