Matt Whitaker to Newsmax: Garland Has Placed Himself 'Above the Law'
NewsmaxJun 01
DOJ Refuses to Prosecute Garland for Contempt
Image copyright: Win McNamee/Staff/Getty Images News via Getty Images
The Facts
The US Department of Justice (DOJ) has decided not to press criminal charges against Attorney General Merrick Garland for contempt of Congress, arguing that America's top law enforcement officer did not commit a crime.
In a letter to House Speaker Mike Jonhson (R-La.) dated Friday, a department official stressed that the DOJ has a consistent policy of not prosecuting officials who do not comply with subpoenas when a president makes a claim of executive privilege — which Pres. Joe Biden did last month.
The Spin
Republican narrative
The Biden administration has created a two-tiered justice system in America, and this refusal to pursue contempt charges against Attorney General Merrick Garland just reaffirms this issue. It's utterly unacceptable that Biden's DOJ has ignored this referral for contempt, especially after prosecuting Steve Bannon and Peter Navarro for the same reason.
Democratic narrative
Given that Pres. Joe Biden invoked executive privilege last month, no one should expect anything other than this decision. It has been a longstanding position of the DOJ — no matter which party is in office — not to charge officials with contempt for declining to comply with congressional subpoenas for material subject to presidential executive privilege.
