Rep. Luna Calls for $10,000 Daily Fine on Garland for Biden Audio Tapes

Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, a Florida Republican, plans to force a House vote on a resolution to fine Attorney General Merrick Garland $10,000 a day for not complying with a congressional subpoena to turn over audio tapes on President Biden's handling of classified documents.

Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, a Florida Republican, is preparing to force a House vote to fine Attorney General Merrick Garland $10,000 a day for not complying with a congressional subpoena to turn over audio tapes on President Biden's handling of classified documents.

The move to invoke the rarely-used inherent contempt power could impose a fine for every day Garland does not hand over tapes of Biden's interview with Special Counsel Robert Hur, instead of taking him into custody.

Rep. Luna Calls for $10,000 Daily Fine on Garland for Biden Audio Tapes

Luna said she plans to bring the issue to a vote on Wednesday and, with Speaker Mike Johnson's support, she expects it to pass.

"What I will say is that for a lot of people, this is something that's definitely going to hurt," Luna told Fox News' Maria Bartiromo on Sunday. "I don't think that Garland wants to take one for the team, if you will, in regards to continuing to fight, even though he knows that Biden is not cognitively there, so I think that it'll serve two purposes."

Rep. Luna Calls for $10,000 Daily Fine on Garland for Biden Audio Tapes

"One, obviously, there shouldn't be a double standard of justice in this country," she added. "We have people in jail for doing what he did, but also two, I do believe that it will force him to produce either the tapes or to step down."

Bartiromo, following up on Luna's remarks, asked what the tapes contain that could prove to be crucial information for Republicans.

Rep. Luna Calls for $10,000 Daily Fine on Garland for Biden Audio Tapes

"I think that it's very possible that Biden either forgot who he was or is so bad in the interview that he would have reason for his own Cabinet to basically invoke the 25th Amendment," Luna said.

"What's scary is that there have been people like Garland who have been willing to break the law in trying to protect him [Biden]," she added. "So what I would say is for the American people, even Democrats that are concerned about Biden being the nominee, what is on these tapes that they would go to such great lengths to essentially basically protect him?"

Rep. Luna Calls for $10,000 Daily Fine on Garland for Biden Audio Tapes

Luna's resolution comes after House Republicans voted last month to hold Garland in contempt of Congress for his refusal to turn over the audio tapes. The Justice Department, meanwhile, has refused to prosecute, citing Biden's decision to call executive privilege over the tapes.

The move by Luna and other Republicans is likely to further escalate tensions between the Biden administration and Congress. It also comes as the Justice Department is investigating Biden's handling of classified documents, which were found at his home in Delaware and at his former office at the Penn Biden Center.

Rep. Luna Calls for $10,000 Daily Fine on Garland for Biden Audio Tapes

The White House has defended Biden's handling of the matter, saying that he is cooperating with the investigation and that the documents were inadvertently misplaced. However, the investigation has raised questions about Biden's handling of classified information and whether he violated any laws.

The House vote on the resolution to fine Garland is expected to be close, with Democrats likely to oppose it. However, if the resolution passes, it could put Garland in a difficult position. He could either comply with the subpoena and turn over the tapes, or he could face a daily fine of $10,000.

It is unclear how the Justice Department would respond if Garland does not comply with the subpoena. The Justice Department has previously said that it will not prosecute Garland for contempt of Congress, but it is possible that the House could take other actions, such as impeaching Garland.