WASHINGTON — The House Judiciary Committee plans to vote this week on a measure to hold President Joe Biden’s ghostwriter in contempt of Congress for refusing to turn over documents and other materials related to his work on the president’s memoir .
The vote on the resolution against writer Mark Zwonitzer is scheduled for Thursday morning, just hours before Biden and former President Donald Trump hold their first debate of the 2024 campaign. The resolution is expected to evolve along party lines.
In its report outlining the contempt recommendation, the GOP-led committee said it first requested documents and communications related to Biden’s memoirs — “Promise Me, Dad” and “Promises to Keep” — in February, days after the special counsel Robert Hur released its report and declined to recommend charges against Biden over his handling of classified documents.
The committee requested documents and communications between Zwonitzer and Biden or his staff related to Hur’s report, in addition to any contracts or agreements related to the ghostwriter’s memoir work, documents showing proof of payment, as well as audio recordings and transcripts of any interviews or conversations. between Zwonitzer and Biden for the memoir.
Zwonitzer’s lawyer previously indicated he would produce the documents, but later said Zwonitzer would not cooperate without a subpoena, the committee said. The committee issued a subpoena in March, a subpoena that the panel said Zwonitzer’s attorney challenged.
A Biden campaign spokesperson and Zwonitzer’s attorney did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Tuesday.
For months, Republicans in Congress have tried to obtain the audio recordings of Biden’s October interview with Hur. The president last month claimed executive privilege over the recordings.
In March, Judiciary Committee Democrats released the full transcripts of Biden’s interview.
Hur said in his report that Biden would be sympathetic to a jury and could portray himself as an “older man with a bad memory,” an assessment Republicans have tried to use against the president as he campaigns for a second term. Hur also said the evidence “does not establish Mr. Biden’s guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.”
If the contempt resolution progresses as expected on Thursday, the next step would be a vote in the House of Representatives.
The Republican-controlled House voted this month to hold Attorney General Merrick Garland in contempt for refusing to turn over the audio recordings. The Justice Department declined to file contempt charges against him.
Rebecca Kaplan reported from Washington and Zoë Richards from New York.
This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
