According to U.S. Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-FL), the House sergeant-at-arms can arrest U.S. Attorney General (AG) Merrick Garland for contempt of Congress – and she plans to force a vote on it.
The National Pulse reported that Luna, who was elected to the House of Representatives in 2022, intends to introduce a privileged resolution invoking Congress' constitutional power of inherent contempt. This followed the Biden administration's Department of Justice (DOJ), which Garland leads, saying it would not pursue charges against him.
Two weeks prior, the U.S. AG was held in contempt of Congress after refusing to hand over radio recordings of President Joe Biden's interview sessions with former DOJ Special Counsel Robert Hur regarding the mishandling of classified documents. Before the House vote, Garland acknowledged that the transcripts of the interviews had been edited for clarity – raising the question of whether evidence of Biden's cognitive decline had been altered.
Meanwhile, Biden Justice Department officials argued that the contempt resolution does not preempt the president's assertion of executive privilege regarding the audio recordings. (Related: "Transparent" DOJ REDACTED every page of Biden ghostwriter's interview transcript.)
"Releasing the audio would chill cooperation with the department in future investigations," Garland also argued during a hearing before the House contempt vote. "It could [also] influence witnesses' answers if they thought the audio of their law enforcement interviews would be broadcast to Congress and the public.
"The only option to ensure compliance with our subpoena is to use our constitutional authority of inherent contempt. In the next few days, I will call up my resolution holding Garland in inherent contempt of Congress, and I look forward to each of you voting in favor of it," the congresswoman said.
"Our ability to legislate effectively and fulfill our constitutional duties is at stake. We must act now to protect the integrity and independence of the legislative branch."
Luna issues Garland an ULTIMATUM: Submit recordings ASAP or be ARRESTED
True enough, Luna issued Garland an ultimatum to comply with the subpoena or face arrest. She demanded that the head of the DOJ turn over the recordings of the interviews between Biden and Hur by the morning of June 28, with serious consequences for noncompliance. The subpoena was penned by the House Oversight Committee (HOC) and House Judiciary Committee (HJC), with Luna being a member of the first.
The congresswoman for the Sunshine State addressed concerns regarding what she described as a double standard within the U.S. justice system during a press conference.
"We are here today because of the double standard that exists within the justice system. As you know, on Feb. 27, the [HOC] as well as the [HJC] had sent a subpoena to Garland, of which we received no response. After referring him for criminal contempt within 48 hours or less, the DOJ refused to prosecute," she said.
Luna highlighted Congress' inherent contempt authority, citing historical precedents. According to her, inherent contempt was first used in 1795. A 1927 Supreme Court decision on the McGrain v. Daugherty case, which stated that Congress does indeed have this authority, further upheld this power.
"It's important to note that when an individual is called before courts across the country, they appear," the congresswoman emphasized.
YourNews remarked that the ultimatum "comes as tensions rise over accountability and transparency within the DOJ." Luna stressed the importance of adherence to legislative processes and accountability for those who interfere with these processes.
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Watch HJC Chairman Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) telling Newsmax's Greta Van Susteren that his committee wants all information on Merrick Garland and Robert Hur in the clip below.
This video is from the NewsClips channel on Brighteon.com.
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