Justice Department says it won't prosecute Merrick Garland after House contempt vote

Washington — The Justice Department said Friday that it will not prosecute Attorney General Merrick Garland after the House voted to hold him in contempt of Congress for defying a subpoena for audio recordings of President Biden's interview with special counsel Robert Hur.

Carlos Felipe Uriarte, an assistant attorney general, told House Speaker Mike Johnson in a letter that it is the Justice Department's longstanding policy not to bring contempt of Congress charges against an official who declined to turn over subpoenaed information subject to a president's assertion of executive privilege.

Mr. Biden invoked executive privilege over the audiotapes of his interviews with Hur, as well as an interview by his ghostwriter.