‘Apples to Oranges’: Speaker Johnson Bristles When Asked if GOP’s Push to Hold Garland in Contempt ‘Undermines’ Their Defiance of J6 Subpoenas

Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) said he does not believe the House GOP is being hypocritical by pushing for Contempt of Congress charges against Attorney General Merrick Garland.

The Republican-led House is pushing for a vote on Wednesday to hold Garland in Contempt of Congress over his refusal to release the audio of special counsel Robert Hur’s interview with President Joe Biden. Hur declined to prosecute Biden over his handling of classified material.

During a press conference Wednesday morning, a reporter pressed Johnson on whether the GOP caucus was being hypocritical because some right-wing lawmakers have refused to comply with House Committees in the past. Famously, Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) and GOP lawmakers refused to comply with a House January 6th Committee subpoena.

Johnson rejected those accusations, claiming they were “apples to oranges” and that the committee was not “properly constituted.”

I’m so glad you brought up the January 6th committee. We’ll be talking a lot more about that in the coming weeks. There’s been a lot of investigation about that committee. I don’t think it was properly constituted. I don’t think it was, it was his properly administered. And now we know that, apparently some of the evidence was hidden and some maybe even destroyed. So you’ll see over here much more about that in the days ahead. You talk about apples to oranges. There couldn’t be a more clear contrast between that and what we’re talking about here.

This is the Judiciary Committee. This is the weaponization committee. These are properly constituted, constituted and operating committees under Chairman Jordan’s leadership have done extraordinary work methodically, constitutionally, appropriately. And now we come to this impasse with the attorney general himself who refuses to comply. Look, this is an article one issue. We’ve got to get it, covered. Well, and I think we will. And I think that’s why this contempt, will pass on the floor.

Watch the clip above.