The gloves are off…
Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-Fla.) will reportedly force a vote on directing the House Sergeant-at-Arms to arrest Attorney General Merrick Garland sometime this week.
On Monday, the Florida congresswoman shared a letter to colleagues arguing that the Department of Justice (DOJ) undermined Congress by refusing to act on the contempt resolution passed by the GOP majority earlier this month.
“The only option to ensure compliance with our subpoena is to use our constitutional authority of inherent contempt,” Luna said. “In the next few days, I will call up my resolution holding Attorney General Merrick Garland in inherent contempt of Congress, and I look forward to each of you voting in favor of it.”
“Our ability to legislate effectively and fulfill our constitutional duties is at stake. We must act now to protect the integrity and independence of the legislative branch.”
Read the full letter below:
Inherent contempt differs from the criminal contempt resolution passed in June, which referred Garland to his own department for criminal charges. If passed, inherent contempt could force Garland to stand trial before the House of Representatives. If Garland were to be found guilty he would be detained by the House Sergeant-at-Arms.
“This is a broad power that courts have recognized as necessary for Congress to fulfill its legislative functions. Under inherent contempt, the individual is brought before the bar of the House by the Sergeant at Arms, tried by the body, and can then be detained either in the Capitol or in D.C.,” Luna wrote.
House Republican leaders moved to hold Garland in contempt for refusing to turn over audio recordings of special counsel Robert Hur’s interviews with President Biden, despite a congressional subpoena. (RELATED: Republicans Vote To Hold Merrick Garland In Contempt Of Congress)
The recording occurred during Hur’s investigation into Biden’s handling of classified documents. The Judiciary Committee, led by Republicans such as Reps. Jim Jordan and James Comer, issued a subpoena for the audio, but the Department of Justice (DOJ) only provided some records, excluding the critical audio recording.
The DOJ said it would not prosecute Garland because he was acting on Biden’s own executive privilege claims over the interview tapes. (RELATED: Johnson Vows To Take Garland To Court To Enforce Subpoena)
“The Department of Justice and the attorney general cannot be the ultimate deciders of whether or not a congressional subpoena is enforced. If Congress allows this to happen, we risk being subordinated to the attorney general and being completely neutered in our ability to legislate,” Luna argued. “Why would anyone from the executive branch comply with our demands for information if the enforcement of those demands relies on the actions of another department in its own branch?”
Luna faces an uphill battle to deem her resolution “privileged,” a required measure to force the vote. House leaders must act on privileged resolutions within two legislative days.
Fox News noted Congress has not invoked its inherent contempt power since 1934, when it resulted in Washington lawyer William MacCracken getting a 10-day jail sentence for not sufficiently complying with a Senate subpoena. The case went all the way to the Supreme Court, which backed Congress’ right to exercise its inherent contempt powers in its February 1935 decision in Jurney v. MacCracken.
Inherent contempt has never been used on a Cabinet official or on a matter over which the president has exerted executive privilege.
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