Republicans hope to hold Attorney General Garland in contempt of Congress. Here's what that means

Merrick Garland is at risk of becoming the third attorney general in U.S. history to be held in contempt of Congress as Republicans move to punish the Justice Department for refusing to turn over audio related to President Joe Biden’s handling of classified documents.

Contempt is one of U.S. lawmakers’ politically messiest and, until recent years, least-used powers. It is a tool that the House and the Senate can employ either to coerce compliance with a subpoena or to remove any obstruction from an ongoing investigation.

By approving a contempt resolution, the House would effectively be recommending that Garland be prosecuted. And recent cases against allies of former President Donald Trump including Steve Bannon and Peter Navarro have proved that a contempt resolution is far from symbolic, creating the basis for a case that can sometimes hold up in court.

Here's what to know about the contempt fight with Garland and the turmoil ahead.

Why are Republicans pushing to hold Attorney General Merrick Garland in contempt?

The push to hold Garland in contempt is just the latest broadside by Republicans against the Justice Department.

GOP lawmakers — led by Reps. Jim Jordan and James Comer — moved ahead with holding Garland in contempt for refusing to fully comply with a congressional subpoena issued as part of their probe into special counsel Robert Hur’s decision not to charge the Democratic president with any crimes. Hur investigated Biden's handling of classified documents.

The House Judiciary and Oversight & Accountability committees' chairmen had ordered the Justice Department to turn over audio of Hur’s interviews with Biden by early April. But officials provided only some of the records, leaving out the audio of the