Jordan, Comer threaten AG Garland with contempt over special counsel docs

House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan and House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer on Monday warned Attorney General Merrick Garland that they may initiate contempt proceedings against him over the Department of Justice's "insufficient production" of materials in response to a subpoena for materials related to special counsel Robert Hur's investigation.

Hur published his report on President Joe Biden's handling of classified materials in February. Though he opted against bringing charges, Hur wrote that his "investigation uncovered evidence that President Biden willfully retained and disclosed classified materials after his vice presidency when he was a private citizen."

Jordan and Comer in late February issued the subpoena, setting a deadline of March 7, though they were not satisfied with what the DOJ provided them.

"[T]he Department provided the Committees with an insufficient production that only included letters exchanged between President Biden’s legal counsel and the Department, along with an offer to review two classified documents in camera," they wrote on Monday. They further highlighted that several news outlets reportedly received transcripts of Hur's interviews with Biden before either committee did.

"The Department continues to withhold additional material responsive to the Committees’ subpoenas—specifically the audio recordings of Special Counsel Hur’s interviews with President Biden and the transcript and audio recordings of Special Counsel Hur’s interviews with Mr. Zwonitzer," they asserted. Mark Zwonitzer is Biden's ghostwriter.

"The February 27 subpoenas create a legal obligation on you to produce this material. Accordingly, the Committees expect you to produce all responsive materials no later than 12:00 p.m. on April 8, 2024. If you fail to do so, the Committees will consider taking further action, such as the invocation of contempt of Congress proceedings," they concluded.

Ben Whedon is an editor and reporter for Just the News. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter.