The GOP-controlled House voted to hold Attorney General Merrick Garland in contempt of Congress Wednesday over his refusal to turn over audio of President Joe Biden, according to multiple reports.
The audio at the center of the controversy is a recorded interview about the handling of classified documents between Biden and special counsel Robert Hur, CNN, ABC News and NBC News reported.
The vote concluded with a tally of 216-207, with Rep. David Joyce of Ohio being the sole Republican voting against it.
The controversy centered on Garland's refusal to provide the audio of special counsel Robert Hur's interview with President Joe Biden regarding his handling of classified documents. Republicans demanded this audio after Hur chose not to prosecute Biden, partly due to the potential jury sympathy for him as an "elderly man with a poor memory."
Democrats argued that the complete transcript of Biden's interview was already publicly available and cautioned that Republicans might distort the audio.
Although the contempt vote passed, Biden and his administration have invoked executive privilege to withhold the audio, making it highly unlikely that Garland would face prosecution for not complying with the subpoenas. It is also unprecedented for Justice Department prosecutors to target their own leader over a contempt issue.
Last month, the House Judiciary and Oversight committees endorsed a report recommending that the House hold Garland in contempt for defying congressional subpoenas related to the audio recording. Before the vote on Wednesday, Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio,
"This is not a complicated matter: The executive branch and its agencies, including the Department of Justice, are not above Congress' right to oversee those agencies," stated Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky. "We, as members of the House of Representatives, have a duty to ensure congressional subpoenas are fully complied with by those who received them - people, companies and particularly the federal government."
