Mornin’ Politocadoes!
With a 217-216 vote, the House held Attorney General Merrick Garland in contempt on Wednesday. Garland had, up to this point, refused to provide audio recordings of President Biden’s interview with Special Counsel Robert Hur. The vote is the result of months of work by House Republicans to bring as much material from the interview into the public as possible. The Department of Justice has provided transcripts of their interview for what it’s worth, but Republicans have remained fixated on kicking up as much dust as possible.
Hur originally interviewed the President in regard to an investigation of Biden holding onto Obama-era classified documents at his Delaware home. The investigation was widely seen as a way to minimize Trump’s handling of classified documents. Hur had originally assessed that no charges were necessary but he went on to claim in his report that Biden was old, confused, and a poor memory. This characterization became red meat for Republicans who wanted to get out as much about this as possible to paint Biden as old and incompetent.
In any event, Garland will likely not face prosecution but Republicans are hopeful this will strengthen their subpoena for the audio files. The only “No” vote coming from a GOP Representative, Dave Joyce (R-OH), would not support a motion that would further politicize the political system for points. Garland for his part, expressed his disappointment that congressional authority is being used for political hackery like this.
I don’t quite see how having the audio would make the investigation any clearer. It’s far more likely that Republicans are hoping to use the audio for anything that makes Biden sound old, corrupt, or senile. Putting Garland in contempt is just icing on the cake to them.
Welcome to Thursday! Please be excellent to each other in the comments. The Mayor McSquirrel Rule remains in effect. Something to keep in mind! Police are using digital data to prosecute abortion seekers, and Facebook and Google are helping them! Even if they are not legally required to do so, the tech giants will aid them in this since it’s technically *against the law*. Please be careful when looking for abortion providers or helping someone who is looking for that assistance.
https://tinyurl.com/2azchvd2The Covid-19 pandemic continues even if the emergencies end, continue to vaccinate using the latest version of the FDA approved vaccines by Phizer and Moderna. Even if you are vaccinated, please continue to maintain social distancing measures, wear masks in public areas in accordance with CDC guidelines in regard to your own vaccination status.Also, according to recent polls approximately 50% of adults are not planning on getting their Covid-19 boosters. So please get them and older adults should also look to be vaccinated for RSV! It’s been difficult to get adults onboard with getting the RSV shots as it is. Remember that getting these shots could potentially keep thousands of Americans who do not have to be there out of the ICU this winter.https://tinyurl.com/ycxvehya