周三下午，众议院共和党人通过了一项决议，以藐视国会罪对司法部长梅里克·加兰提起公诉拒绝交出乔·拜登总统与特别顾问罗伯特·胡尔的访谈音频他对机密文件的处理。
最终投票结果是216票对207票。俄亥俄州众议员大卫·乔伊斯是唯一投票反对藐视法庭决议的共和党人。
议长迈克·约翰逊称这一结果是“维护我们监督程序和责任完整性的重要一步。”
约翰逊在一份声明中说:“应由国会——而不是行政部门——决定它需要哪些材料来进行自己的调查，拒绝遵守合法的国会传票将会产生后果。”
加兰回应称，“本届众议院将严肃的国会权力变成了党派武器，令人深感失望。”
加兰在一份声明中说:“今天的投票无视宪法规定的三权分立、司法部保护其调查的必要性以及我们向委员会提供的大量信息。”“我将永远支持这个部门、它的员工以及捍卫我们民主的重要使命。”
虽然司法部已经向共和党领导的委员会提供了Hur对拜登的采访记录，但众议院共和党人认为这些录音带对他们陷入僵局的总统弹劾调查是必要的。
约翰逊说:“鉴于众所周知白宫对总统的声明进行了大量编辑，委员会需要录音带来验证书面记录的准确性。”“这是一个简单的问题——我们有文字记录，我们需要音频。”
藐视法庭决议指示众议院议长将此案提交给哥伦比亚特区美国检察官进行可能的刑事起诉。
上周在众议院司法委员会面前，加兰继续为自己的决定辩护不要交出采访的录音带，拜登总统对此享有行政特权。
“我不会被吓倒。司法部不会被吓倒。我们将继续不受政治影响地开展工作。我们不会在捍卫我们的民主上退缩，”加兰在听证会上说。
民主党人也站出来为加兰辩护，称共和党试图藐视他是出于政治动机。
众议院司法委员会资深成员、民主党众议员杰里·纳德勒(Jerry Nadler)周二在众议院规则委员会作证时说，“这实际上不是与DOJ的政策分歧，而是在18个月的调查导致一次又一次失败后如何养活MAGA基地。”
乔伊斯是唯一投票反对该决议的共和党人，她还暗示这是一种党派行为。
乔伊斯说:“作为一名前检察官，我不能凭良心支持一项将使我们的司法系统进一步政治化以获得政治分数的决议。”“美国人民期待国会为他们工作，解决政策问题，并优先考虑善治。适可而止。”
过去，国会曾因内阁官员拒绝遵守众议院传票而将其视为藐视国会，包括2019年的司法部长威廉·巴尔和商务部长威尔伯·罗斯以及2012年的时任司法部长埃里克·霍尔德。
特朗普政府前高级贸易顾问彼得·纳瓦罗(Peter Navarro)在2022年藐视国会，原因是他无视现已解散的众议院特别委员会调查1月6日美国国会大厦遇袭事件的记录和证词。
纳瓦罗最近被判入狱四个月。
特朗普的盟友史蒂夫·班农也因不服从1月6日的特别委员会而在2022年因藐视国会而被关押，他已被命令于7月1日前往监狱报道。
House Republicans vote to hold Garland in contempt over Biden interview audio
House Republicans on Wednesday afternoon passed a resolution to hold Attorney General Merrick Garland in contempt of Congress forrefusing to turn over audio of President Joe Biden's interview with special counsel Robert Huron his handling of classified documents.
The final vote was 216 to 207. Rep. David Joyce of Ohio was the only Republican who voted against the contempt resolution.
Speaker Mike Johnson called the outcome "a significant step in maintaining the integrity of our oversight processes and responsibilities."
"It is up to Congress – not the Executive Branch – to determine what materials it needs to conduct its own investigations, and there are consequences for refusing to comply with lawful Congressional subpoenas," Johnson said in a statement.
Garland, in response, said it was "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 substantial amount of information we have provided to the Committees," Garland said in a statement. "I will always stand up for this Department, its employees, and its vital mission to defend our democracy."
While the Department of Justice has made a transcript of Hur's interview with Biden available to the GOP-led committees, House Republicans argue the audio tapes are necessary to their stalled impeachment investigation into the president.
"The Committees need the audio tapes to verify the accuracy of the written transcripts given this White House has been known to heavily edit the President's statements," Johnson said. "This is a simple matter -- we have the transcript, and we need the audio."
The contempt resolution directs the House speaker to refer the case to the U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia for possible criminal prosecution.
Before the House Judiciary Committee last week,Garland continued to defend his decisionto not turn over audio tapes of the interview, over which President Biden assert executive privilege.
"I will not be intimidated. And the Justice Department will not be intimidated. We will continue to do our jobs free from political influence. And we will not back down from defending our democracy," Garland said at the hearing.
Democrats have also come to Garland's defense, describing the GOP push to hold him in contempt a politically-motivated endeavor.
"This isn't really about a policy disagreement with the DOJ, this is about feeding the MAGA base after 18 months of investigations that have produced failure after failure," Democratic Rep. Jerry Nadler, the ranking member of the House Judiciary Committee, said in testimony Tuesday before the House Rules Committee.
Joyce, the sole Republican to vote against the resolution, also suggested it was a partisan act.
"As a former prosecutor, I cannot in good conscience support a resolution that would further politicize our judicial system to score political points," Joyce said. "The American people expect Congress to work for them, solve policy problems, and prioritize good governance. Enough is enough.”
In the past, Congress has held Cabinet officials in contempt of Congress for refusing to comply with a House subpoena, including Attorney General William Barr and Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross in 2019 and then-Attorney General Eric Holder in 2012.
Congress held Peter Navarro, a former top trade adviser in the Trump administration, in contempt of Congress in 2022 for defying records and testimony to the now defunct House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol.
Navarro was recently sentenced to four months behind bars.
Steve Bannon, a Trump ally who was also held in contempt of Congress in 2022 for not complying with the Jan. 6 select committee, has been ordered to report to jail on July 1.
