WASHINGTON (AP) — House Republicans on Thursday introduced a resolution that would hold President Joe Biden’s ghostwriter in contempt of Congress for refusing to turn over records related to the special counsel’s investigation into Biden’s handling of classified documents.
The House Judiciary Committee voted along party lines to recommend contempt charges against Mark Zwonitzer, who worked with Biden on his two memoirs and through him came into contact with material considered classified. The committee’s action paves the way for a possible vote in the House of Representatives to censure Zwontizer for criminal contempt.
Republican representative. Jim Jordanthe Judiciary Committee chairman, subpoenaed Zwonitzer in March after he refused to voluntarily hand over documents including audio, video and transcripts of his interviews with Biden for the 2007 book “Promises to Keep” and 2017 “Promise Me, Dad.” .
“Zwonitzer continues to withhold all documents and materials in his possession that are responsive to the Committee’s subpoena,” the resolution said. “The materials requested from Zwonitzer are critical to the Committee’s understanding of the manner and extent of President Biden’s mishandling and unlawful disclosure of classified materials, as well as Zwonitzer’s use, storage, and disposal of classified materials on his computer.”
The contempt proceedings are Republicans’ latest legal salvo against Biden and his family. Earlier this month, Republicans voted to charge Attorney General Merrick Garland with contempt for his refusal to turn over audio of the special counsel’s interview with Biden. The White House had blocked the release of the audio weeks earlier by invoking executive privilege. It said Republicans in Congress only wanted the recordings “to chop them up” and use them for political purposes.
Republicans opened their investigation into Biden after the special counsel’s report in February Robert Hur said Biden was sloppy in his handling of confidential materials found in his home and former office. Hur said Biden shared confidential information with Zwonitzer while the two were working on Biden’s second book.
Hur’s report concluded that there were no criminal charges against Biden. Prosecutors did consider charging Zwonitzer with obstruction of justice because the ghostwriter destroyed recordings of interviews he conducted with Biden while they were working together on his second memoir when he learned of the document investigation.
But Hur said Zwonitzer gave “plausible, innocent reasons” for deleting the recordings and that he had cooperated with investigators, meaning the evidence against him was likely “insufficient to obtain a conviction.” Investigators were also able to recover most of the deleted recordings from Zwonitzer’s laptop.
But Republicans argue that further investigation into Zwonitzer’s access to classified materials is warranted to determine whether legislative reforms should be made to the storage, handling and disclosure of sensitive documents by members of the executive branch. Extending the investigation also keeps the spotlight on parts of Hur’s report that were politically damaging to Biden, as he seeks re-election in November against former President Donald Trump.
In addition to the scathingly critical assessment of Biden’s handling of sensitive government data, Hur’s report offered unflattering characterizations of the president’s memory, raising new questions about his competence and age that have undermined deep-seated concerns voters had about Biden seeking a second term.
“We need the audio recordings and the transcripts,” Jordan said during Thursday’s hearing. “Simply put, they are the best evidence of the president’s mental state.”
Democrats on the Judiciary Committee called the contempt proceedings an “abuse of the committee’s oversight authority” and the latest ploy by Republicans to defend Trump as he himself faces a federal investigation into withholding classified documents from his Florida club after he left the White House.
“We are here today because there is a presidential debate tonight and MAGA Republicans have decided that the best way they can help President Trump is to bully and intimidate a private citizen into obtaining information about his very sensitive and very personal conversations with President Biden,” said Rep. Jerry Nadler, the top Democrat on the committee, said in his opening statement.
He added: “We’re here today because Republicans, in short, are desperate.”
Although both Biden and Trump have been investigated for their handling of confidential information, there are major differences.
Biden’s team returned the documents after they were discovered, and the president cooperated with the investigation by voluntarily participating in an interview and agreeing to searches of his homes.
Trump, on the other hand, faces criminal charges related to classified material, accusing him of enlisting the help of aides and lawyers to hide the documents from the government and attempting to have potentially incriminating evidence destroyed.
