House GOP Plans to Force Vote on Inherent Contempt for Attorney General Merrick Garland

Congressman Anna Paulina Luna is leading a new effort to hold Attorney General Merrick Garland in inherent contempt of Congress for refusing to comply with a congressional subpoena. The resolution is expected to receive bipartisan support, and if passed, could lead to Garland's arrest and detention.

Representative Anna Paulina Luna (R-Fla.) is planning to force a vote on whether the House should hold Attorney General Merrick Garland in inherent contempt of Congress. This comes after the Department of Justice (DOJ) refused to act on a contempt resolution passed by the GOP majority earlier this month.

In a letter sent to fellow House Republicans, Luna argues that the DOJ has undermined Congress by refusing to comply with a subpoena for audio recordings of special counsel Robert Hur's interviews with President Biden. She says that the only option to ensure compliance is to use Congress' constitutional authority of inherent contempt.

House GOP Plans to Force Vote on Inherent Contempt for Attorney General Merrick Garland

Inherent contempt differs from the criminal contempt resolution passed on June 12, which referred Garland to his own department for criminal charges. Inherent contempt, if passed, could force Garland to stand trial before the House of Representatives and, if found guilty, would lead to his detention by the House Sergeant-at-Arms.

This is a broad power that courts have recognized as necessary for Congress to fulfill its legislative functions. Under inherent contempt, the individual is brought before the bar of the House by the Sergeant at Arms, tried by the body, and can then be detained either in the Capitol or in D.C.

House GOP Plans to Force Vote on Inherent Contempt for Attorney General Merrick Garland

Luna says that invoking inherent contempt demonstrates the seriousness with which Congress views non-compliance and the potential consequences for those who refuse to cooperate.

House Republican leaders moved to hold Garland in contempt for refusing to turn over the audio recordings of Hur's interviews with Biden, despite a congressional subpoena.

House GOP Plans to Force Vote on Inherent Contempt for Attorney General Merrick Garland

Republicans seeking the audio recording argued it would provide critical context about Biden’s state of mind. Democrats, meanwhile, have dismissed the request as a partisan attempt to politicize the DOJ.

The DOJ said it would not prosecute Garland because he was acting on Biden's own executive privilege claims over the interview tapes.

Luna argues that the DOJ cannot be the ultimate deciders of whether or not a congressional subpoena is enforced. She says that if Congress allows this to happen, it risks being subordinated to the attorney general and being completely neutered in its ability to legislate.

Congress has not invoked its inherent contempt power since 1934, when it resulted in Washington lawyer William MacCracken getting a 10-day jail sentence for not sufficiently complying with a Senate subpoena.

To force a vote on her resolution, Luna will have to deem it "privileged" – meaning House leaders will have two legislative days to act on it.

It is not immediately clear if the effort will succeed. The resolution will likely get no support from Democrats, and only a few Republicans would need to vote to table the measure, which would kill it before a House-wide vote.

The House-wide vote on holding Garland in contempt got support from every Republican save Rep. David Joyce (R-Ohio), who opposed it over concerns it would politicize the justice system.

Inherent contempt has never been used on a Cabinet official nor on a matter over which the president has exerted executive privilege. There are also some questions about logistics, with no formal roadmap for inherent contempt proceedings and Garland having his own FBI security detail.

The DOJ declined to comment on Luna's letter.