Reps. Comer and Jordan Warn AG Garland of Potential Contempt Charges from Congress

Reps. James Comer, R-Ky., and Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, have issued a threat to hold Attorney General Merrick Garland in contempt of Congress if he does not comply with their demands to provide relevant content from special counsel Robert Hur’s investigation into President Joe Biden’s handling of classified documents.

In a letter to Garland on Monday, Comer and Jordan, who chair the House Committee on Oversight and Accountability and Judiciary Committee, respectively, state that the Department of Justice (DOJ) has been withholding additional material that is responsive to the committees’ subpoenas. This material includes audio recordings of Hur’s interviews with Biden and a transcript and audio recordings of Hur’s interviews with Biden’s ghostwriter, Mark Zwonitzer.

Comer and Jordan subpoenaed the material on Feb. 27 as part of an impeachment inquiry into alleged influence peddling and other criminal activities involving Biden and his family. The DOJ was given until March 7 to provide the requested “narrow and specific set of material.”

However, the DOJ’s response was deemed inadequate, only including letters exchanged between Biden’s legal counsel and the DOJ, along with an offer to privately review two classified documents.

Following this, the lawmakers wrote to Garland on March 9, stating that the provided material was insufficient and setting a deadline for compliance by March 11, as Hur was scheduled to testify in front of the Judiciary Committee on March 12. The DOJ did not meet the deadline, citing an ongoing “interagency review” for classified and confidential information.

Just two hours before Hur’s testimony, the DOJ provided “two redacted transcripts” of Hur’s interviews with Biden but did not produce the requested audio recordings. The lawmakers expressed frustration that media outlets received transcripts of the interviews before the committees did, suggesting possible political motives behind the DOJ’s actions.

The lawmakers emphasized that the subpoenas create a legal obligation for Garland to produce the material and set a new deadline of noon on April 8 for compliance. Failure to do so may result in further action, such as invoking contempt of Congress proceedings.

Newsmax has reached out to the DOJ for comment.