'Toothless bulldogs': House Republicans mocked after their attempt to hold AG Garland in contempt over Biden-Hur interview audio fails

WASHINGTON, DC: On Thursday, July 11, House Republicans attempted to hold Attorney General Merrick Garland in "inherent contempt" of Congress, a rare action that would have imposed a $10,000 daily fine on the nation's top law enforcement official until audio recordings of President Joe Biden's interviews with Special Counsel Robert Hur were provided.

The resolution to fine President Biden's Attorney General every day until he complied with a subpoena previously approved by the House in February was defeated in a 210-204 vote, according to the New York Post.

Four Republicans, including House Intelligence Committee Chairman Mike Turner and Rep Dave Joyce from Ohio, as well as California Reps John Duarte and Tom McClintock, voted against the resolution, along with every Democrat.

On Wednesday, the same four GOP congressmen teamed up with Democrats in a failed effort to table the inherent contempt resolution or refer it to the House Rules Committee for further discussion.

Despite some lawmakers still being present on Capitol Hill on Thursday, nineteen lawmakers, including twelve Republicans and seven Democrats, did not vote.

Top House Republicans react to failure of inherent contempt resolution against AG Garland

House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La) had previously discouraged the House GOP’s effort, saying in a Tuesday press conference that his “preference is to follow the legal process and legal proceedings that protect the institution.”

Rep Anna Paulina Luna (R-Fla), who introduced the inherent contempt resolution against AG Merrick Garland, informed reporters that she had “already refiled” it after it failed to pass the House floor test.

“We had members that were here yesterday that flew out due to family emergencies,” the Sunshine State lawmaker said.

“We feel very confident that it will pass,” she claimed, hinting that one of the four “no” votes from House Republicans may be swayed to change their stance.

In a February report, Special Counsel Robert Hur concluded that President Joe Biden, 81, should not be charged for willfully retaining and disclosing classified materials following his vice presidency, partly because a jury would potentially view him as a “well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory.”

Attorney General Merrick Garland released that report and the transcripts of the POTUS’s October 8-9 interviews with Special Counsel Hur’s team, but has refused to release the audio recordings after the White House claimed executive privilege in May.

All but one House Republican voted last month to hold AG Garland in contempt for declining to share the audio files.

Concerns surrounding the Democrat statesman’s mental fitness have increased since his abysmal June 27 debate performance against former President Donald Trump, with up to eleven Democrat representatives coming forward in the following weeks and requesting the Commander-in-Chief to withdraw his re-election bid.

Republicans believe that the Robert Hur-Joe Biden interview tapes will “contain verbal and nonverbal context that is missing from a cold transcript,” whereas House Democrats like Rep Jamie Raskin (D-Md) have dismissed the pursuit as a “madcap, wild-goose chase” and a hunt for “throat clearings and sneezes.”

White House counsel Ed Siskel has also raised concerns that Republican operatives will “chop [the tapes] up, distort them, and use them for partisan political purposes.”

The GOP-led House Judiciary Committee, along with right-wing groups like the Heritage Foundation and conservative media outlets, has since filed a lawsuit in federal court for the audio recordings.

Former Attorney General Michael Mukasey has backed those efforts by submitting a declaration stating that Garland’s assertion of executive privilege over the audio recordings was “flawed.”

Since presenting the bill last month, Rep Luna has toned down the language. Initially, the resolution would have directed the House sergeant-at-arms to arrest AG Garland.

In 1927, a US Supreme Court decision upheld the inherent contempt authority to compel Mally Daugherty, the brother of then-Attorney General Harry Daugherty, to comply with a subpoena for testimony and to submit records as part of the Teapot Dome scandal.

House Republicans are also calling for the audio of Special Counsel Robert Hur’s interview with President Biden’s ghostwriter Mark Zwonitzer, who reportedly confessed to deleting incriminating recordings of the incumbent president discussing classified information after learning of the Special Counsel investigation.

Internet slams House Republicans

People derided congressional Republicans online after their attempt to hold President Biden's Attorney General Merrick Garland in "inherent contempt" of Congress failed the House floor test by 210-204 on Thursday.

One X user remarked, "What a bunch of useless turds."

Another user wrote, "House Republicans - toothless bulldogs."

Another user said, "Why am I not surprised? GOP will betray you every time they can and can't. Truly horrible party." 

One X user claimed, "Republicans are still weak. Weed out the weak ones and Make America Stronger Again."

Another user quipped, "Democrats would’ve passed and made the fine 100k a day. @GOP is weak."

Finally, this user tweeted, "The dems will release the Hur tape when it's needed to remove Biden. We need to wait until a few more polling numbers come in or the end of tonight's big boy press conference. The dems don't want to give up that leverage over Biden just yet." [sic]

This article contains remarks made on the Internet by individual people and organizations. MEAWW cannot confirm them independently and does not support claims or opinions being made online.