The House voted Wednesday over whether Garland should be held in contempt for his refusal to hand over subpoenaed audio tapes of President Joe Biden’s interview with Special Counsel Robert Hur. House members want to hear the tapes as part of their investigation into possible impeachment of Biden on grounds of corruption, abuse of power, and obstruction. The impeachment inquiry was authorized by the House last December.
“Merrick Garland should be held in contempt, but what we don’t want to miss here is that this is a diversion from who’s really in contempt – and that’s President Joe Biden,” Perry, the Pennsylvania Republican, said on Washington Watch Monday.
Biden’s claim of executive privilege in order to withhold the tapes from the House has put Garland in this predicament, Perry says. It’s also an abuse of executive privilege, the GOP lawmaker argues.
Executive privilege is a constitutional doctrine that grants the president the right to withhold certain information from Congress, the courts and the public. But as Perry told show host Tony Perkins, it’s not intended to be a stay out of jail free card.
“It allows the president to talk to his or her advisors and to talk freely, and we don't want that to change that for President Biden or President Trump or any president," Perry explained. "But what it doesn't do is guarantee some kind of shield from the law.
"This is claiming executive privilege so that the American people can't see the legal proceedings in the criminal case against President Biden,” Perry said.
The congressman said Garland should be held in contempt because he’s designated the tapes as held under executive privilege, but at the root of the problem is “Biden’s refusal to give to the American people what is theirs.”
The House Rules Committee met on Tuesday and voted for a resolution calling for Garland to be held in contempt. [UPDATE: The full House voted Wednesday to hold Garland in contempt of Congress.]
Garland is just helping Biden stall
In Perry's opinion, Biden’s refusal to hand over the tapes is just a plan to bog things down before the election.
“They’re playing for time. They want this to get into the courts and be held up until after the election because I suspect whatever is on the tape is devastating to the Biden campaign,” Perry said. “They’re using the law to change the trajectory of the election.”
Ultimately the Republicans’ slim House majority will be enough for a formal contempt referral for Garland, Perry predicts.
“I do think the measure will pass, and Merrick Garland will be held in contempt. I think all Republicans will vote to hold Garland in contempt, and the Democrats will continue to support the law-breaking on their side,” he said.
