GOP Rep. Says House Sergeant at Arms Should Take Garland into Custody

Republican Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (D-Florida) said Sunday she wants the House to use the sergeant-at-arms, a provision that hasn’t been used in more than a century, to enforce contempt of Congress’s resolution against Attorney General Merrick Garland .

Luna told Fox News’ Maria Bartiromo that he introduced a resolution several months ago out of inherent contempt for Congress, a power granted to Congress that “has not been done since the early 1900s.”

“I anticipated that the Department of Justice would not do its job and so I had that prepared and ready to go,” she said, on highlighted by Mediaite.

Luna said he brought the idea to the attention of House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.).

The provision, she said, allows Congress “to be the punitive arm and really hold Garland accountable, using the sergeant at arms to essentially go get him,” she said, adding that they would “bring him to justice for the good of the House.” “

Luna argued that the provision allows Congress to be “a check and balance on the Department of Justice.”

According to the ChamberThe sergeant at arms is an elected official who is the head of law enforcement and protocol responsible for maintaining order in the House.

Last week, the Department of Justice (DOJ) issued a determination that Garland committed no crime by failing to meet the demands of House Republicans, who issued a subpoena for the audio of President Biden’s conversation with Special Counsel Robert Hur.

Biden’s claim of executive privilege over the tapes protects Garland from prosecution, the DOJ said.

Johnson said Friday that the House will take the contempt of Congress case to court since the DOJ declined to pursue charges. He claimed it was “sadly predictable” that the department would not prosecute Garland even though the DOJ prosecuted Republicans like Steve Bannon and Peter Navarro.

Navarro and Bannon were charged with contempt of Congress for defying subpoenas related to January 6th. Navarro has been in prison since March and Bannon will report to federal prison in the coming weeks.

The DOJ noted that it has not prosecuted other Republicans who have been found in contempt, such as Bill Barr and Mark Meadows.

This story originally appeared on thehill.com read the full story