Johnson says House will take Garland's subpoena to court after the DOJ's response to the contempt vote

House Speaker Mike Johnson on Friday expressed disappointment at the Department of Justice's (DOJ) decision not to prosecute Attorney General Merrick Garland after the House voted to hold him in contempt for failing to comply with a subpoena, but he said he plans to move forward by taking the subpoena federal to the state. court and certifying infringement reports.

The DOJ said Garland's refusal to comply with a congressional subpoena does not “constitute a crime.” The subpoena ordered Garland to turn over an audio recording of President Joe Biden's interview with special counsel Robert Hur, who investigated Biden's handling of classified documents. The Chamber voted in favor scorn Garland Wednesday.

“The House disagrees with the claims in the Justice Department letter, and as speaker, I will be certifying the contempt reports to the United States Attorney for the District of Columbia,” Johnson said. said in a post on X. “It is sadly predictable that the Biden Administration's Justice Department will not prosecute Garland for defying congressional subpoenas even though the department aggressively prosecuted Steve Bannon and Peter Navarro for the same.”

Johnson said the DOJ's decision is “another example” of the Biden administration's two-tier justice system and that the House will move to enforce Garland's subpoena in federal court. The contempt order comes after Biden invoked executive privilege over the tapes, even though Congress has received a transcript of the interview.

garland criticized the House's contempt vote in a statement Wednesday, claiming House Republicans were turning their power into a partisan weapon.

“Today's vote disregards constitutional separation of powers, the Justice Department's need to protect its investigations, and the substantial amount of information we have provided to the committees,” Garland said in a statement after the election. “I will always defend this department, its employees and its vital mission to defend our democracy.”

Misty Severi is an evening news reporter for Just the News. You can follow her to X for more coverage.