Four Republicans opposed the bid to fine the attorney general $10,000 a day for his refusal to comply with a congressional subpoena for recordings of the president’s interview with a special counsel.
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Attorney General Merrick B. Garland testified before the House Judiciary Committee last month. Democrats have asserted that Republicans have no legitimate legislative need for the audio of President Biden’s interview with a special counsel, but merely want to use clips in campaign ads.
The House on Thursday defeated a Republican measure that would impose a $10,000-a-day fine on Attorney General Merrick B. Garland for his refusal to turn over audio recordings of President Biden’s interview with a special counsel who raised questions about his age and memory.
The resolution — the latest bid by Republicans to force Mr. Garland to turn over the recordings — failed after four Republicans broke with their party to oppose it, joining Democrats who voted “no” en masse.
The vote was 210 to 204 against holding Mr. Garland in “inherent contempt” of Congress, a maneuver that authorizes certain penalties for people who defy a congressional subpoena. In this case, the resolution, sponsored by Representative Anna Paulina Luna, Republican of Florida and an outspoken ally of former President Donald J. Trump, called for fining Mr. Garland and the Justice Department $10,000 each day until they provide the recordings in question.
Republican Representatives John Duarte and Tom McClintock of California, along with David Joyce and Michael R. Turner of Ohio, broke ranks to oppose the measure. That was enough to sink it in the House, where the G.O.P. holds a tiny majority.
At issue was audio from Mr. Biden’s interviews with the special counsel Robert K. Hur, who investigated his handling of classified documents. Mr. Hur concluded that Mr. Biden should not face criminal charges, but he included a line in his investigative report that handed Republicans significant political ammunition, calling the president a “well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory.”
That characterization has taken on new significance in the wake of Mr. Biden’s disastrous debate performance last month, in which he struggled to express himself clearly, trailed off repeatedly and appeared to lose his train of thought. That has led to a major crisis for his re-election bid, as Democrats question his viability and some call for him to drop out of the race.
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Source: nytimes.com
