In the News

WASHINGTON – Today, Majority Whip Tom Emmer discussed House Republicans’ resolution to hold Attorney General Merrick Garland in Contempt of Congress for refusing to comply with lawfully issued Congressional subpoenas.

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Whip Emmer: “So the question that should be asked is what are they hiding, and why? These are fundamental questions behind House Republicans' resolution this week to hold Attorney General Merrick Garland in Contempt of Congress for refusing to comply with our lawfully issued subpoenas. To set the scene, Attorney General Garland handpicked Special Counsels Robert Hur and Jack Smith to oversee the investigations into Joe Biden and Donald Trump’s handling of classified documents. Hur concluded that, although President Biden ‘willfully retained and disclosed classified materials as a private citizen,’ criminal charges were not warranted because Biden is an ‘elderly man with a poor memory.’ In stark contrast, former president Donald Trump was hit with a 37-count indictment from Special Counsel Smith alleging that he willfully retained classified documents after leaving office. Second…in accordance with our legislative oversight authority of special counsels and impeachment inquiry into President Biden, House Republicans on the Judiciary and Oversight committees subpoenaed Attorney General Garland for records – including transcripts, notes, video, and audio files – related to Special Counsel Robert Hur’s investigation in order to assess his conclusions. And while the Justice Department handed over the transcript of Biden’s interview with Hur, they've denied and refused to hand over the corresponding audio recordings. This is a problem for a couple of reasons. First: Transcripts do not and cannot capture things like tone, inflection, pace, and pauses that fully convey a person’s message. The audio recordings are necessary to adequately evaluate Special Counsel Hur’s assessment about President Biden’s memory and to determine whether the DOJ is engaging in a two-tiered application of justice by refusing to indict Joe Biden. Second: The White House has a history of editing official transcripts to cover up Biden’s gaffes. If the interview audio matches the transcript, why not release it? Why not comply with our subpoenas? Is Biden’s Department of Justice covering for their boss? These are all imperative questions that our committees will get to the bottom of and this week’s contempt resolution is a vital step in that effort. I encourage all of my colleagues to vote yes on this important issue.”

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