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The attorney general should be a watchdog for the rule of law, not a lapdog for the president – simple as that. Bob Casey, Jr.

WASHINGTON — 2016 – an American lawyer and jurist is nominated by Barack Obama to the U.S. Supreme Court after the untimely death of the Honorable Antonin Scalia.

However, the wise the Republican-led U.S. Senate effectively blocks a man named Merrick Garland to be appointed.  Garland is smart, but has a temper and is quite left wing and liberal.  He is furious and looks for revenge.  President Donald Trump sees the danger in this nomination and joins forces with the Senate.

2020 – The ailing president, Joseph Biden, feels that he owes a favor to the Democrat Party and Garland.  He appoints Garland to the temporary position as the 86th United States attorney general.

Over four years, Garland works with Democrats in Congress, the Justice Department, and others to obtain his revenge against former President Trump.  It is vengeance, not justice that he is seeking.

After Trump is impeached twice, prosecuted on phony crimes, and finally convicted in 2024 on other phony charges, Garland has spent millions of taxpayers’ money and has made a fool of himself and the Department of Justice.

However, misdeeds always seem to come back home.  On Wednesday of last week, The U.S. House of Representatives voted to hold Attorney General Merrick Garland in contempt of Congress for refusing to turn over audio of Joe Biden’s interview in his classified documents case.

The 216-207 vote fell along party lines. Only one Republican — Rep. David Joyce of Ohio — voted against it.

Garland said in a statement late Wednesday, “It is deeply disappointing that this House of Representatives has turned a serious congressional authority 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.”

He added, “I will always stand up for this Department, its employees, and its vital mission to defend our democracy.”

His transparent dishonesty could not be more clear.

Garland is now the third attorney general to be held in contempt of Congress. Yet it is unlikely that the Justice Department — which Garland oversees — will prosecute him. The White House’s decision to exert executive privilege over the audio recording, shielding it from Congress, would make it exceedingly difficult to make a criminal case against Garland.

Nonetheless, Speaker Mike Johnson defended the decision to push ahead with what is now a mostly symbolic effort.

“Look, we did our job on the contempt, and I think it sends an important message,” the Louisiana Republican said following the vote. “We’ll see what happens next, but, I mean, the House has to do its work and I’m pleased with the outcome today.”

The White House and congressional Democrats have slammed Republicans’ motives for pursuing contempt and dismissed their efforts to obtain the audio as purely political.

“This contempt resolution will do very little, other than smear the reputation of Merrick Garland, who will remain a good and decent public servant no matter what Republicans say about him today,” New York Rep. Jerry Nadler, the top Democrat on Judiciary Committee, said during floor debate.

Well, it is way too late for Garland to even have a mediocre reputation.

This embarrassment for Garland and the Justice Department began when Republicans became incensed when Special Counsel Robert Hur declined to prosecute Biden over his handling of classified documents and quickly opened an investigation. GOP lawmakers — led by Rep. James Comer — sent a subpoena for audio of Hur’s interviews with Biden during the spring. But the Justice Department only turned over some of the records, leaving out audio of the interview with the president.

On the last day to comply with the Republicans’ subpoena for the audio, the White House blocked the release by invoking executive privilege. It said that Republicans in Congress only wanted the recordings “to chop them up” and use them for political purposes.

Executive privilege gives presidents the right to keep information from the courts, Congress and the public to protect the confidentiality of decision-making, though it can be challenged in court.

Somehow, this was not respected by Congress or the Justice Department during the Watergate allegations and investigation of President Richard Nixon.

Merrick Garland has spent 90 percent of his time seeking political prosecutions.  He cares little for protecting the American people.  I do not believe that he will ever satisfy his need for vengeance nor continue to hold the honorable office as Attorney General of the United States in the near future.