The Justice Department decided not to go after Attorney General Merrick Garland for a crime. This comes shortly after House Republicans voted to hold him in contempt because he didn’t hand over audiotapes of talks with President Biden when asked.
The prosecutors said Garland is protected by the law because Biden claimed executive privilege over the tapes last month. So, the case is closed now.
This is similar to how the Justice Department dealt with similar situations involving the previous Attorneys General, Eric Holder and Bill Barr, when Congress wanted to hold them in contempt.
Carlos Uriarte, an assistant attorney general, explained that Garland’s responses to the subpoenas weren’t considered a crime. So, they won’t take any action against him.
Garland was upset by the vote, saying it turned a serious congressional power into a tool for one political party.
The audiotapes contain interviews between Biden and a special investigator looking into how secret information ended up at Biden’s home and office. The investigator decided not to charge Biden, saying jurors might see him as an elderly man with memory issues.
The House Judiciary and Oversight Committees, led by Republicans, asked for the tapes. The Justice Department provided written transcripts and talked with lawmakers, but didn’t hand over the tapes.
Garland said giving out the tapes could make it harder to work with the White House in the future on sensitive investigations. He also said Congress didn’t have a good reason to ask for them, a view shared by lawyers in the Justice Department.
But House Speaker Mike Johnson disagreed, saying Congress should decide what materials it needs for investigations.
Some groups, like the Heritage Foundation and some media organizations, have sued to get the tapes. It’s not clear if they’ll get them before the presidential election in November.