A Republican lawmaker is looking to force a vote on arresting Attorney General Merrick Garland to “ensure compliance” with Congress is taken seriously.
Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-FL) is hoping her GOP colleagues will back her efforts to hold Democrats accountable as the Department of Justice (DOJ) has failed to follow up on a contempt resolution regarding the attorney general. Luna is reportedly working to force a vote on having Garland arrested by the House Sergeant-at-Arms.
“The only option to ensure compliance with our subpoena is to use our constitutional authority of inherent contempt,” Luna told Republicans in a letter being circulated Monday. “In the next few days, I will call up my resolution holding Attorney General Merrick Garland in inherent contempt of Congress, and I look forward to each of you voting in favor of it.”
NEWS: Anna Paulina Luna sends letter to colleagues announcing she’ll force vote on her Merrick Garland inherent contempt resolution “in the next few days”
If she makes it privileged tomorrow or Wednesday, it could set up a vote this week pic.twitter.com/Mvx2vwL9JT
— Liz Elkind (@liz_elkind) June 24, 2024
“Our ability to legislate effectively and fulfill our constitutional duties is at stake. We must act now to protect the integrity and independence of the legislative branch,” the lawmaker added.
“Inherent contempt differs from the criminal contempt resolution passed on June 12,” Fox News explained. “The latter referred Garland to his own department for criminal charges. However, 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.”
Garland is now calling Republican members of congress pressuring them to NOT vote for inherent contempt.
This is the definition of corruption. He thinks he is above the law and can tell members of congress what to do.
— Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (@RepLuna) June 21, 2024
“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.,” Luna reportedly wrote.
She added that it “demonstrates the seriousness with which Congress views non-compliance and the potential consequences for those who refuse to cooperate.”
Luna recently explained the two types of contempt of Congress charges, reiterating to Fox Business that “Garland is not above the law.”
(Video Credit: Fox Business)
House Republicans contend Garland defied a subpoena from Congress and would not turn over audio recordings of President Joe BIden’s interviews with Special Counsel Robert Hur. And the DOJ made it clear it would not prosecute Garland.
“The Department of Justice and the attorney general cannot be the ultimate deciders of whether or not a congressional subpoena is enforced. If Congress allows this to happen, we risk being subordinated to the attorney general and being completely neutered in our ability to legislate,” Luna asserted. “Why would anyone from the executive branch comply with our demands for information if the enforcement of those demands relies on the actions of another department in its own branch?”
The inherent contempt power has not been invoked by Congress since 1934 and led to the case, Jurney v. MacCracken, making it to the U.S. Supreme Court which ruled in 1935 in favor of the inherent contempt powers of Congress.
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Author: Frieda Powers
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