The House Judiciary Committee intends to file a lawsuit, according to Speaker Mike Johnson, in order to forcibly prompt Attorney General Merrick Garland to produce the audio recordings of President Joe Biden’s meeting with special counsel Robert Hur.
The Justice Department informed Congress that it would not be filing criminal charges against Garland in spite of a House resolution holding him in contempt, so this lawsuit would be the most recent attempt to obtain the sought-after tapes.
“We are going to file suit next week against the Department of Justice to enforce that subpoena. We will go to district court here in D.C., which is the appropriate venue, and we will fight vigorously to get it,” Johnson (R-La.) told reporters on Wednesday.
Republicans contend that hearing the tapes will offer further context for the special counsel’s remarks regarding the president’s senility and memory, even though lawmakers already have a transcript of Biden’s chat with Hur.
Trump has said in the past that Biden’s age is not one of his main concerns in regards to the current president’s ability to run the country per se, it’s Biden’s diminishing memory and overall cognitive abilities.
Representative Anna Paulina Luna (R-Fla.) has also promised to push for a vote on a resolution that would give the House sergeant-at-arms the authority to detain Garland, “a process allowed through such ‘inherent contempt’ resolutions,” The Hill reported.
However, Johnson remained ambiguous regarding Luna’s motion, stating that her proposal was one of many being thought through “in the meantime,” but that “I don’t think anything’s been settled on as of yet.”
Luna has asserted that the action is required to carry out the subpoena.
“This process demonstrates the seriousness with which Congress views non-compliance and the potential consequences for those who refuse to cooperate,” she stated in a letter written to colleagues.
