House Republicans have asked for tape records of former Special Counsel Robert Hur's conversation with President Biden, but the Justice Department will not give them to them. This means that Attorney General Merrick Garland could be held in contempt of Congress.
Chairs of the House Oversight Committee, James Comer (R-Ky.), and the House Judiciary Committee, Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), have said they will hold Garland in contempt of Congress because the Justice Department has not turned over the records. Last month, they gave Garland until Monday, April 8, to follow through.
The GOP gave the Justice Department until the end of the day to reply, but they told lawmakers they would not hand over the tape files of Hur's interview about Biden's alleged wrong keeping of secret papers from his time as a senator and vice president.
After hearing what the President and Mr. Hur's team said in the interview, the Department is worried that the Committees' continued demand for information that builds on what they already have shows that the Committees may not be interested in getting information for legitimate oversight or investigation purposes, but for political reasons that should have no role in how law enforcement files are handled.
The Justice Department did agree to give over some other things, like a copy of an interview with Biden's ghostwriter, Mark Zwonitzer.
They told Garland last month that if he did not hand over the recordings, "committees will consider taking further action, such as the invocation of contempt of Congress proceedings."
Chairs of the House Oversight Committee, James Comer (R-Ky.), and the House Judiciary Committee, Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), have said they will hold Garland in contempt of Congress because the Justice Department has not turned over the records. Last month, they gave Garland until Monday, April 8, to follow through.
The GOP gave the Justice Department until the end of the day to reply, but they told lawmakers they would not hand over the tape files of Hur's interview about Biden's alleged wrong keeping of secret papers from his time as a senator and vice president.
After hearing what the President and Mr. Hur's team said in the interview, the Department is worried that the Committees' continued demand for information that builds on what they already have shows that the Committees may not be interested in getting information for legitimate oversight or investigation purposes, but for political reasons that should have no role in how law enforcement files are handled.
The Justice Department did agree to give over some other things, like a copy of an interview with Biden's ghostwriter, Mark Zwonitzer.
They told Garland last month that if he did not hand over the recordings, "committees will consider taking further action, such as the invocation of contempt of Congress proceedings."
