House Republicans warn Merrick Garland of potential custody over refusal to deliver Biden interview tapes

WASHINGTON, DC: Rep Anna Paulina Luna (R-Fla) warned US Attorney Merrick Garland could be brought into custody for not delivering the interview tapes of Joe Biden with Special Counsel Robert Hur, during a press conference on Wednesday, June 26, reported Fox News.

Luna was accompanied by nine other members of the House GOP while she made the announcement, noting that Garland "still has time" to comply with a congressional subpoena for the tapes.

The House of Representatives had voted Garland in contempt of Congress on June 12 for refusing to turn over the recordings, following which the latter was referred to the DOJ for criminal charges, where he holds the top position himself. The DOJ has since refused to prosecute the Attorney General.

What did House GOP representatives say at press conference?

Luna stated that in case of continued non-compliance by Garland, House Republicans "will press forward with calling the privilege motion on inherent contempt to the floor on Friday morning." If successful, Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La) will be directed to call up the Sergeant-at-Arms, "of which they do have the authority under this inherent contempt motion to bring him (Garland) into custody."

"I also want to make it clear, though, that this is of Garland's choosing. Again, no one is above the law. And if he chooses to go down this path, then we will," she said. "It is also important to note that if we, as a Congress, do not have the ability to enforce our investigative ability, that we are essentially going to be ignored and undercut and essentially handicapped by all other branches, which would make us not a co-equal branch of government."

"I understand that this sounds extreme," stated Rep Dan Crenshaw (R-Texas). "It sounds extreme to put the AG in handcuffs and drag him in here."

"I'll tell you why I'm here, what motivates me. Because (of) what the DOJ is doing in my hometown in Houston, they're willing to arrest a regular citizen, put them in handcuffs, charge them with ridiculous crimes. And for what? Because that particular citizen, a man named Doctor Haim decided to expose a crime in Texas. That crime was performing harmful gender transition practices on minors. He was indicted for alleged HIPAA violations and this demonstrates that Merrick Garland and this DOJ determination to target whistleblowers who oppose their ideology, they want to protect themselves," he shared.

"If we allow the Department of Justice and Attorney General Garland to dictate whether or not a congressional subpoena is enforced, we risk becoming subordinate to the executive branch," expressed Rep Mark Alford (R-Mo).

"That cannot happen. This is unacceptable. Congress must never rely on the actions of the other branches to carry out our constitutional responsibility under Article One. What does Attorney General Merrick Garland have to hide?" he added.

Internet tells House GOP to put their words into action

Netizens called out GOP leaders while responding to the news on the social media platform X, as the following tweets demonstrate.

"House Republicans warn and write letters, but nothing ever really happens," wrote a user.

"Lol. Not in a million years. They don't have the cajones," mocked another.

"Get it done," stated a third.

"A lot of things could happen but THEY WONT. Because republicans are useless," jibed a fourth user.

"Waiting to see action with results," expressed a fifth.

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.