Anna Paulina Luna to force House vote to hold Merrick Garland in ‘inherent contempt’

U.S. Rep. Anna Paulina Luna has followed through on forcing a vote to hold Attorney General Merrick Garland in “inherent contempt.” That could mean the nation’s top cop faces $10,000 fines each day from Congress unless he complies with a subpoena.

“It is evident that there is a two-tiered justice system in this country. I, along with an overwhelming number of Americans, am tired of all talk and no action,” Luna said in a statement.

The St. Petersburg Republican intends to bring a contempt vote up on the floor Wednesday as a privileged resolution. That means the House must schedule a vote of the full House within 48 hours. A vote will likely take place before the current session of Congress is scheduled to end on Thursday.

“Everyday Americans are penalized when they do not comply with subpoenas. After seeing what has transpired over the last three weeks, I am convinced Merrick Garland is engaged in a cover-up that goes all the way to the White House and involves the House of Representatives.”

Congress hasn’t used its power to hold individuals in inherent contempt since 1935. But Congress has the power to compel individuals to comply with subpoenas. Luna initially wanted to employ the long dormant power to have the sergeant-at-arms for the House arrest Garland and physically force him to testify to Congress, but she has backed off that extreme measure in favor of daily fines.

Luna, a member of the House Oversight Committee, wants the Department of Justice to release recordings of interviews of President Joe Biden by Special Counsel Robert Hur. The White House in May exerted executive privilege to block public release of those materials.

Hur in February completed an investigation of whether Biden mishandled classified materials as Vice President. A report from Hur concluded no criminal charges were warranted, but included explosive assessments about Biden’s mental state, describing him as an “well-meaning elderly man with a poor memory.” Most notably, Hur said Biden did not remember, even within several years, when his son Beau died.

Transcripts later released to Congress suggested some back and forth on those details, and Biden insisted after the report’s release that his “memory is fine.”

But Luna has pushed for the release of the audio itself, and suggested there was greater urgency since a debate performance that set alarms within political circles about Biden’s age and fitness.

“Inherent contempt is the ONLY mechanism that can be used to force compliance with subpoenas,” Luna said in her latest statement.

“The Hur tapes are not just an issue of national security, as it is evident Joe Biden is impaired, but has now become a criminal organized effort to usurp Congress as a co-equal branch of government. This resolution has been legally vetted to ensure it is constitutional and is backed by case law in the Supreme Court.”

Still, the push has faced resistance from House leadership, with disagreement reported in Washington largely over the politics of the Presidential Election. Axios reported this week that Speaker Mike Johnson has been happy to see Democratic infighting about Biden’s competency dominating headlines for the past two weeks.

Still, Johnson signaled he would support the measure if Luna forced a vote.

“If it’s brought to the floor, I’ll vote for it,” he told press.

But it remains unclear if the measure has the votes to pass. Many moderate Republicans may not support a contempt vote. But Luna has also started to woo Democrats openly calling for Biden to step aside to support her measure and force the audio of his conversation with Hur into full view.