House Republicans prepare to hold Attorney General Garland in contempt

The Republican-led House of Representatives is expected to vote Wednesday to hold Attorney General Merrick Garland in contempt of Congress, escalating a tug-of-war over audiotapes of President Biden's interview with a special prosecutor.

That federal criminal investigation ended this year with no charges against Biden for mishandling classified information, in part because special counsel Robert Hur concluded a jury would likely view the president as a "sympathetic, well-meaning elderly man with a poor memory."

Top Republican leaders worked Tuesday night to count votes to ensure the measure could pass in the narrowly divided chamber. If Republicans are successful, Garland will become the third attorney general to be reprimanded by the House for defying a congressional subpoena. But the consequences are likely to end there, since Biden has asserted executive privilege over the tapes, giving Garland legal protection from any further investigation.

House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, told NPR that he expected the House to approve the contempt resolutions and said he hasn't heard any reservations about them from fellow Republicans.

Democrats pointed out that Jordan, who is a chief advocate of holding Garland in contempt, declined to cooperate with the House January 6 committee's investigation in 2022. He publicly admitted that he was discussing a plan to contest the electoral votes in several states with the Trump White House. Jordan told NPR that he never told the committee he wouldn't appear and maintained he negotiated with it. "This is different — Merrick Garland says you ain't getting it," referring to the audiotapes, adding, "There's no negotiating whatsoever."

He and other House Republicans argued