Scoop: GOP ad bashes Democrats on Garland contempt vote
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House Republicans' campaign arm is bashing Democrats for voting against holding Attorney General Merrick Garland in contempt of Congress, Axios has learned.
Why it matters: It may be Republicans' most tangible deliverable from the vote, given that the Justice Department has already made clear it will not act on the contempt referral.
Driving the news: The House voted 216-207 to pass the resolution holding Garland in contempt for refusing to turn over audio of former special counsel Robert Hur's interview with President Biden
- All Democrats voted against the measure.
- Hur said Biden, 81, suffered repeated memory lapses during the interview, and the GOP has been eager to sear those episodes into the public consciousness.
- Republicans hope the vote will strengthen their attempt to subpoena the audio recording, which Biden has asserted executive privilege to shield.
State of play: In a digital spot first shared with Axios, the National Republican Congressional Committee accuses Democrats of putting "party loyalty before the country" by voting against contempt.
- "Extreme House Democrats voted to block Americans from hearing secret audio filings showing the truth about Biden's mental fitness," the ad says.
- The ad includes footage of several House Democrats praising Biden and shrugging off concerns about his age.
The intrigue: Rep. Dave Joyce (R-Ohio), chair of the centrist Republican Governance Group, voted with Democrats against the contempt resolution, issuing a scathing rebuke of the effort.
- "As a former prosecutor, I cannot in good conscience support a resolution that would further politicize our judicial system to score political points," Joyce said.
The other side: Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee spokesperson Viet Shelton slammed swing-district Republicans for backing the contempt measure.
- "The so-called moderate House Republicans continue to fail to deliver for hardworking American families," Shelton said in a statement to Axios.
- "Their only goal is to fall in line behind their far-right flank in pursuit of undercutting the justice system, spewing conspiracy theories, and bending the knee before their wannabe dictator. Shame on them."
