@cspanofficial: The House on Thursday rejected a resolution to hold Attorney General Merrick Garland in "inherent contempt" for refusing to turn over the audio tapes of President Biden's interview with Special Counsel Robert Hur. The vote failed 204–210, with four Republicans — Reps. John Duarte (CA), David Joyce (OH), Tom McClintock (CA) and Mike Turner (OH) — joining all voting Democrats against the measure. Twelve Republicans and seven Democrats did not vote. The "privileged" resolution, introduced by Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-FL), would have fined the attorney general $10,000 per day until he complied with the subpoena for the recordings. It's not clear how the fines would have been enforced and likely would have ended up in court. The resolution did not direct the sergeant at arms to take the attorney general into custody as an earlier version of her resolution called for. Congress has not invoked its "inherent contempt" power since 1934, when it resulted in a lawyer getting a 10-day jail sentence for failing to comply with a Senate subpoena. The vote on passage came after two failed votes on Wednesday called by Democrats to table the resolution and then refer it to the Rules Committee. Many Republicans, including Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA), did not want Rep. Luna to force a vote on the resolution, citing concerns with enforcement but also out of a desire to keep the focus on President Biden's debate performance. Former President Trump, however, came out in favor of the resolution, increasing pressure on Republicans to vote for it. Rep. Luna said she intends to call the resolution up for another vote when attendance is better. "Republican bills went down today. We will bring the vote back to the Floor with legislative appropriations when Members are here," she said on social media. Separately, Republicans voted last month to hold Attorney General Garland in contempt of Congress for refusing to comply with a subpoena to turn over the recordings, which President Biden asserted executive privilege over. The Justice Department subsequently announced it would not pursue charges against the attorney general. #houseofrepresentatives #congress #merrickgarland #cspan

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Thursday 11 July 2024 17:59:27 GMT