Justice Department Declines to Prosecute AG Garland

In a significant development, the U.S. Justice Department confirmed that Attorney General Merrick Garland will not face charges following a House vote to hold him in contempt of Congress. House Republicans had pushed for the contempt vote after Garland declined to provide audiotapes of President Joe Biden, invoking executive privilege.

President Biden had asserted executive privilege, directing Garland not to release subpoenaed materials related to the investigation by Special Counsel Robert K. Hur. Assistant Attorney General Carlos Felipe Uriarte communicated the Justice Department's stance in a letter to House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La.

The Justice Department cited its long-standing position of not prosecuting officials for contempt of Congress when the information is protected by executive privilege. This policy has been consistently observed across administrations of both political parties. For instance, former Attorney General William Barr and Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross were not prosecuted after being held in contempt in 2019. Similarly, in 2022, the Justice Department declined to prosecute former Trump officials Mark Meadows and Dan Scavino for defying Jan. 6 committee subpoenas.

Despite this, House Speaker Mike Johnson stated he would move to certify the Justice Department’s decision, although he issued a statement disagreeing with their assertions. The letter from the Justice Department came two days after the House's party-line vote to hold Garland in contempt.

Garland argued that providing Congress with the recordings would undermine the Department's ability to conduct high-profile investigations and harm future sensitive probes by affecting voluntary cooperation from White House officials. He emphasized that the Justice Department "will not back down from defending democracy."

Criticism arose from figures like Ron Johnson, who accused the Biden Administration's Justice Department of having a "two-tiered system of justice." The Justice Department had previously prosecuted Steve Bannon and Peter Navarro for defying congressional subpoenas, contrasting with their current stance on Garland.

Hur's investigation into Biden's handling of classified documents concluded without prosecution, citing possible jury sympathy due to Biden's age and memory issues, and insufficient evidence to establish guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

The House, controlled by Republicans, intends to pursue enforcement of the subpoena against Garland in federal court. The Justice Department reiterated that disclosing the audio recordings could chill future investigations, a position supported by the legal doctrine of executive privilege.

Conservative Bias:

Once again, the liberal elite in the Justice Department are shielding their own! Attorney General Merrick Garland, a puppet of the Biden administration, gets a free pass despite blatantly defying Congress. House Republicans, fighting for transparency and accountability, voted to hold Garland in contempt, but surprise, surprise—the Justice Department, filled with left-wing bureaucrats, refused to prosecute him. This is the same department that went after Trump allies like Steve Bannon and Peter Navarro with a vengeance! It's a two-tiered system of justice where Democrats can do no wrong, and Republicans are persecuted at every turn. Garland hides behind executive privilege, a convenient excuse to cover up the Biden administration's corruption. The American people deserve better than this shameless display of partisan protectionism. The swamp is deeper than ever, and it's time to drain it!

Liberal Bias:

The hypocrisy of the Republican Party knows no bounds! In a desperate attempt to smear Attorney General Merrick Garland and the Biden administration, House Republicans pushed through a contempt vote, fully aware that it was a baseless, partisan stunt. Garland, invoking executive privilege, rightly refused to release sensitive materials that could jeopardize ongoing investigations. Yet, the GOP, always eager to manufacture scandals, ignores the fact that this policy has been upheld across multiple administrations, including their own. Remember when Trump’s cronies like William Barr and Wilbur Ross were let off the hook for contempt? But now, they cry foul when the same standards apply to Garland. This is nothing but a witch hunt by Republicans who are more interested in political theater than in upholding justice. Their cries of a "two-tiered system" are laughable, given their own history of shielding their allies. It's time to call out this charade for what it is: a blatant attempt to undermine democracy and distract from their own failures.