Justice Department won't prosecute Garland for contempt, says refusal to provide audio wasn't crime

Attorney General Merrick Garland will not be prosecuted for contempt of Congress because his refusal to turn over audio of President Joe Biden’s interview in his classified documents case “did not constitute a crime," the Justice Department said Friday.

In a letter to House Speaker Mike Johnson, a Justice Department official cited the department's longstanding policy not to prosecute for contempt of Congress officials who don’t comply with subpoenas because of a president’s claim of executive privilege.

The House voted Wednesday to hold Garland in contempt of Congress for refusing to turn over the audio recordings of Biden's interview with a special counsel, which the White House has accused Republicans of wanting only so they can chop them up and use them for political purposes.

On the last day to comply with the Republicans’ subpoena for the audio, the White House blocked the release by invoking executive privilege.

The 216-207 vote fell along party lines, with Republicans coalescing behind the contempt effort despite reservations among some of the party’s more centrist members. Only one Republican, Rep. David Joyce of Ohio, voted against it.

Garland is the third attorney general to be held in contempt of Congress. He has defended the Justice Department, saying officials have gone to extraordinary lengths to provide information to the committees about special counsel Robert Hur’s classified documents investigation, including a transcript of Biden’s interview with him.