The DOJ refuses to prosecute Garland

The Justice Department has declined to prosecute Attorney General Merrick Garland for contempt of Congress, saying his refusal to comply with subpoenas “did not constitute a crime.”

Garland's violation of congressional oversight authority by refusing requests to turn over the audio of President Joe Biden's interview with special counsel Robert Hur led to Wednesday's House vote to impeach the most responsible for the application of the country's law, going from 216 to 207 according to party lines.

On Friday, Garland's department protected its boss, predictably, by telling Congress to hit the sand.

(Video: Fox News)

“The department's longstanding position is that we will not prosecute an official in contempt of Congress for refusing to provide subpoenaed information subject to a presidential assertion of executive privilege,” wrote Carlos Felipe Uriarte, assistant attorney general for legislative affairs.

“Consistent with this longstanding position and uniform practice, the Department has determined that Attorney General Garland's responses to subpoenas issued by the committees did not constitute a crime, and therefore the Department will not bring the subpoena in contempt of Congress before a grand jury or take any other action to prosecute the attorney general,” Uriarte said.

So much for “No one is above the law”.

No one is above the law.

— Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) May 31, 2024

But this is how the Biden administration moves in a country that now has a two-tiered legal system, one for Democrats and one for everyone who opposes it.

A disappointed spokesman, Mike Johnson, reacted to the DOJ's refusal to enforce the law and said Republicans are ready to take the matter to court.

The House disagrees with the assertions in the Justice Department's letter, and as spokesperson, I will be certifying the contempt reports to the United States Attorney for the District of Columbia. We will also move to enforce Attorney General Garland's subpoena on the federal state… https://t.co/YOzzzlKWtE

— Speaker Mike Johnson (@SpeakerJohnson) June 14, 2024

“The House disagrees with the claims in the Justice Department letter, and as Speaker, I will certify the contempt reports to the United States Attorney for the District of Columbia. We will also act to enforce Attorney General Garland's subpoena in federal court,” the Louisiana Republican said in a statement.

“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. This is another example of the justice system of two tiers that the Biden administration has brought us,” Johnson added.

After the vote, the attorney general mocked the lawmakers he denounced in a statement accusing them of using their authority as a “partisan weapon” that many would suggest is what Garland has done at the DOJ since at the head He also claimed to be a supporter of “our democracy,” the two-word slogan that really means one-party rule by Democrats.

The Department of Justice issued the following statement from Attorney General Merrick B. Garland regarding the US House of Representatives' vote on H. Res. 1292: https://t.co/20cJlTpVgN pic.twitter.com/XyFsJgv9qv

— US Department of Justice (@TheJusticeDept) June 12, 2024

“It is deeply disappointing that this House of Representatives has turned a serious congressional authority into a partisan weapon. Today's vote disregards the constitutional separation of powers, the Justice Department's need to protect its investigations, and the amount substantial amount of information that we have provided to the committees,” Garland said. “I will always defend this Department, its employees and its vital mission of defending our democracy.”

Staff writer

Chris Donaldson is a regular, ordinary American who is concerned about rampant corruption, as well as the ongoing attacks on our way of life by those who despise our hard-won freedoms. A Navy veteran, he has been a frequent contributor to conservative websites and resides in Florida.

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