An official from the Department of Justice (DOJ) informed House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) in a letter that Attorney General Merrick Garland will not face prosecution for contempt of Congress. This decision was made because Garland’s refusal to provide audio recordings of President Joe Biden’s interview with a prosecutor did not constitute a crime.
The DOJ official stated in the letter that Garland’s non-compliance with a subpoena demanding the audio records of President Biden’s interview with special counsel Robert Hur did not amount to a criminal offense. Assistant Attorney General Carlos Felipe Uriarte, in the letter obtained by media outlets, mentioned that the DOJ’s longstanding policy and practice led to the determination that Garland’s responses to the subpoenas did not warrant criminal charges.
The letter also referenced the DOJ’s policy of not prosecuting officials for contempt of Congress when they refuse to comply with subpoenas due to a presidential claim of executive privilege.
The decision not to pursue contempt charges against Garland followed the House’s vote on June 12 to hold him in contempt for failing to provide the requested tapes. This vote, which passed mostly along party lines, came after a prolonged standoff between Republicans and the DOJ over the production of the audio recordings of President Biden’s interview.
House Republicans sought the recordings to verify Hur’s claims that President Biden had difficulty recalling certain facts during the interview. Hur did not recommend charges against President Biden, citing his memory issues as a contributing factor.
While Republicans aimed to verify Hur’s assertions, Democrats argued that the tapes could be used in campaign ads to portray President Biden negatively. The DOJ made efforts to accommodate Congressional requests for information related to the interview, including providing a transcript of the conversation.
President Biden’s assertion of executive privilege over the interview tapes was defended by Garland and White House Counsel Ed Siskel as necessary to protect future investigations. The President’s counsel accused House Republicans of seeking the tapes for political purposes, leading to a vote to hold Garland in contempt despite the executive privilege assertion.
Mr. Johnson has criticized the efforts to block the release of the tapes, highlighting the ongoing controversy surrounding the issue. Please rewrite this sentence.
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