For weeks now, Attorney General Merrick Garland and the House's Oversight and Judiciary Committees have been playing chicken regarding the tape of the Special Counsel interview with Joe Biden.
Garland has stood firm that the tape will not be turned over, so now the respective chairs of these committees are ready to take action.
Talking Points…
- High-stakes game of chicken
- GOP ready to make a move on Garland
- Analysis
When I read the reports regarding the Special Counsel investigation into Joe Biden, my first thought was that I would love to hear the actual interview. Sometimes, the written word does not convey the particular scenario, and I wanted to hear the pauses and comments of Biden staffers when Joe struggled to get an answer.
Instances such as that are bad enough on paper, but if they sound the way we think they will on tape, it could eliminate Biden as a viable candidate in the eyes of voters. For that reason, House committees have been trying to get that tape from the DOJ, but the DOJ has insisted that the transcript is enough, and they will not give up the tape so it can be used to hurt Joe Biden politically.
The House committees finally gave the DOJ a deadline to produce the tape. That deadline has come and gone, and there is still no tape, so the respective committee chairs are now making the required moves to possibly hold Garland in contempt.
Since Garland has refused to turn over the tape, the House Oversight Committee, chaired by Rep. James Comer (R-KY) and the House Judiciary Committee, chaired by Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH), are going to hold hearings on Thursday to consider a resolution to hold Attorney General Merrick Garland in contempt. The hearings are scheduled to start at 11:00 a.m. EDT on Thursday.
Rep. Comer released a statement on Monday on the matter, stating:
"The House Oversight and Judiciary Committees issued lawful subpoenas to Attorney General Garland for the audio recordings of President Biden's interview with Special Counsel Hur, yet he continues to defy our subpoenas. These audio recordings are important to our investigation of President Biden's willful retention of classified documents and his fitness to be President of the United States.
"There must be consequences for refusing to comply with lawful congressional subpoenas and we will move to hold Attorney General Garland in contempt of Congress."
Keep in mind that several Trump associates have been charged with contempt of Congress, with Steve Bannon having just lost his appeal and the latest Trump ally to face jail time on this front. Peter Navarro is already serving his sentence for ignoring a congressional subpoena, making headlines this week because Donald Trump Jr. went to visit him.
This is an interesting case when you consider all the dust Democrats kicked around regarding Trump associates not obeying congressional subpoenas. The committees have every right to ask for that tape, but I do understand why Garland does not want the tape released.
If that tape did not make Biden sound like a bumbling and confused old man, Garland would have already turned it over and rubbed their faces in it. The fact that he is going to the wall like this over the tape only raises more curiosity about its contents.
The question then becomes, if the committees do make a referral to the DOJ, who will charge the sitting Attorney General with contempt?
