In a vote late this afternoon, the House passed House Resolution 1292 finding Merrick Garland in Contempt of Congress for refusing to turn over the recording of Joe Biden's classified documents interview with Robert Hur. Screen shot shows the final vote. The Acting Speaker called it when it was clear the number of outstanding NV could not change the outcome (8+208 = 215). For those that don't watch floor votes much, time remaining can expire and the vote will still be held open, sometimes quite a while. However, when it becomes clear the pass/fail cannot change waiting for anymore votes after time has expired, the acting chair/speaker/acting Pres Pro Tem will often call it just to get things moving along.
The Contempt Resolution is now submitted to DoJ for prosecution which technically has a legal obligation to do so. It is expected DoJ will ignore this Contempt Resolution. They've already stated they will as they consider it illegitimate, and they'd have to prosecute it. However, it's not a stalemate. The House can next take up an Inherent Contempt Resolution, which would empower the House Sergeant at Arms (or his deputy) to physically arrest Merrick Garland, take him into custody, and hold him for trial in a cell within the Capitol Building. The trial would be held at the "bar" on the floor of the House, at which he can be sentenced to physical incarceration, which could be indefinite until he complies with the subpoena. There's unconfirmed rumor to expect an Inherent Contempt Resolution to be introduced on Friday. Looking to confirm/deny it. Hasn't been used in nearly 100 years, but there's ample SCOTUS Decision precedent that clearly states both the House and Senate possess Inherent Contempt Powers to compel document production and testimony. This could get interesting over the next week or so.
The Contempt Resolution is now submitted to DoJ for prosecution which technically has a legal obligation to do so. It is expected DoJ will ignore this Contempt Resolution. They've already stated they will as they consider it illegitimate, and they'd have to prosecute it. However, it's not a stalemate. The House can next take up an Inherent Contempt Resolution, which would empower the House Sergeant at Arms (or his deputy) to physically arrest Merrick Garland, take him into custody, and hold him for trial in a cell within the Capitol Building. The trial would be held at the "bar" on the floor of the House, at which he can be sentenced to physical incarceration, which could be indefinite until he complies with the subpoena. There's unconfirmed rumor to expect an Inherent Contempt Resolution to be introduced on Friday. Looking to confirm/deny it. Hasn't been used in nearly 100 years, but there's ample SCOTUS Decision precedent that clearly states both the House and Senate possess Inherent Contempt Powers to compel document production and testimony. This could get interesting over the next week or so.
