Johnson says House will take Garland subpoena to court after DOJ's response to contempt vote

House Speaker Mike Johnson expressed disappointment Friday in the Justice Department's (DOJ) decision not to prosecute Attorney General Merrick Garland after the House voted to hold him in contempt for not fulfilling a subpoena, but said he plans to move forward by taking the subpoena to federal court and certifying the contempt reports.

The DOJ said Garland's refusal to comply with a congressional subpoena does not "constitute a crime." The subpoena instructed Garland to turn over an audio recording of President Joe Biden's interview with special counsel Robert Hur, who investigated Biden's handling of classified documents. The House voted to hold Garland in contempt on Wednesday.

"The House disagrees with the assertions in the letter from the Department of Justice, and as Speaker, I will be certifying the contempt reports to the U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia," Johnson said in a post to X. "It is sadly predictable that the Biden Administration’s Justice Department will not prosecute Garland for defying congressional subpoenas even though the department aggressively prosecuted Steve Bannon and Peter Navarro for the same thing."

Johnson said the DOJ's decision is "another example" of the Biden administration's two-tiered system of justice, and that the House would move to enforce the subpoena of Garland in federal court. The contempt order comes after Biden invoked executive privilege over the tapes, though Congress has received a transcript of the interview.

Garland blasted the House's contempt vote in a statement Wednesday, claiming that House Republicans were turning their power 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 after the vote. “I will always stand up for this department, its employees, and its vital mission to defend our democracy."

Misty Severi is an evening news reporter for Just the News. You can follow her on X for more coverage.