Politics
Biden's attorney general is fighting back as the GOP-led House contemplates contempt
Attorney General Merrick Garland is fighting back.
The Republican-led House of Representatives intends to hold him in contempt of Congress this week – if it can muster the votes. Remember, it’s all about the math.
A senior House leadership source told Fox the vote would be Wednesday. But when asked, House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., wouldn’t quite commit to that.
Garland was mum when yours truly pursued him down a hallway before a hearing with the House Judiciary Committee in the Rayburn House Office Building – even absorbing a gratuitous elbow from his FBI security detail before he ducked into an anteroom.
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“Are you going to kind of punch back against what they’re trying to do on contempt?” I asked Garland as we walked briskly down the corridor.
No response.
“Are you going to kind of punch back against what they’re trying to do on contempt?”
Silence.
“Do you feel this has been an abuse of the process when it comes to contempt?”
See above.
Attorney General Merrick Garland testifies during a House Judiciary Committee hearing on the Department of Justice, on Tuesday, June 4, 2024, on Capitol Hill in Washington. (AP/Jacquelyn Martin)
But when House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, gaveled down the hearing, the bookish Garland threw the verbal book at Republicans. Garland was furious when it came to suppositions that his department had it in for former President Trump and was biased against Republicans.
“These attacks have not and they will not influence our decision making. I view contempt as a serious matter,” said Garland. “I will not be intimidated. And the Justice Department will not be intimidated. We will continue to work to do our jobs free from political influence. And we will not back down from defending democracy.”
“Lawfare” is the GOP’s new mantra when it comes to Garland, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg and Fulton County prosecutor Fani Willis. In fact, Republicans accused Garland’s Justice Department of teaming up with local authorities to target Mr. Trump.
Jordan threw a bombardment of verbal haymakers at Garland, ticking through a host of grievances against the Attorney General in hopes that one might land.
“This is the same Department of Justice whose Civil Rights Division has done nothing to address the attacks on Jewish students at college campuses. This is the same Department of Justice who can’t tell us who planted the pipe bombs on January 6th. Who leaked the Dobbs draft opinion. And who put cocaine in the White House,” charged Jordan. “Many American believe there’s now a double standard in our justice system. They believe that because there is.”
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“They see that Lady Justice’s blindfold has slipped off,” tacked on Rep. Ben Cline, R-Va.
But Democrats were having none of Republican conjecture about a two-tiered justice system.
In fact, Garland characterized GOP allegations of prejudice as a “conspiracy theory.”
“An attack on the rule of law tears down people’s confidence in the basic fundamental element of our democracy,” declared Garland.
(Aaron Schwartz/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., tangled with the attorney general over providing “correspondence between the department and Alvin Bragg’s office.”
“You lodge this attack that it’s a conspiracy theory that this is coordinated lawfare against (former President) Trump,” said Gaetz. “But when you say ‘we’ll take your request and work it through the DoJ accommodation process,’ then you’re actually advancing the very dangerous conspiracy theory that you’re concerned about.”
Democrats chided Republicans who argued that the fix was in on behalf of Hunter Biden – noting that the president’s own Justice Department prosecuted the first son. That’s to say nothing of ongoing prosecutions involving Sen. Bob Menendez, D-N.J., and Rep. Henry Cuellar, D-Tex.
Rep. Steve Cohen, D-Tenn., suggested that Democrats had concrete evidence that it didn’t tilt the tables against Republicans.
“I notice Mr. Gaetz, who took you on first, is not here now,” observed Cohen to Garland. “And that’s unfortunate because he is living testament to the fact and direct evidence that you have not weaponized the Justice Department. He was investigated for sex trafficking. And while many expected a prosecution, you chose not to prosecute this very active Republican.”
Democrats certainly didn’t want to see Hunter Biden – the president’s son – convicted on firearms charges. But the conviction of Hunter gives Democrats an opportunity to argue that the GOP narrative of an uneven justice system fails to stand up.
“When Donald Trump was convicted, we saw an immediate reaction from Republican leaders. It was like within seconds that this trial is a sham. The judge is corrupt. The jury is rigged. And the contrast today is just staggering,” said Rep. Jim McGovern, D-Mass., the top Democrat on the House Rules Committee. “But when a Democrat is convicted – the president’s son, no less – that’s justice. Give me a break.”
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Mike Johnson denied that the Hunter Biden conviction undermined GOP claims.
“It doesn’t. Every case is different. And clearly the evidence was overwhelming here. I don’t think that’s the case in the (President) Trump trials. And all the charges that have been brought against him have been obviously brought for political purposes. Hunter Biden is a separate incident,” said Johnson.
If Republicans forge ahead with contempt, it’s because they have the votes – despite their narrow majority. Moderates now appear to be willing to find Garland in contempt of Congress.
“I think this administration has sought to run out the clock and avoid the responsibility,” said Rep. Marc Molinaro, R-N.Y. “I don’t have to agree or disagree with a president to know that Congress has a responsibility to provide the checks, balances and oversight. And this administration should comply with it, whether they like it or not. I’ll certainly support a contempt vote.”
“He has a responsibility to comply with lawful subpoenas,” said Rep. Mike Lawler, R-N.Y. “He is picking and choosing what he wants to comply with.”
(AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)
The House voted in 2012 to hold then-Attorney General Eric Holder in contempt of Congress. House Republicans accused Holder of withholding documents related to a gun-running investigation called Fast and Furious. The House voted 255-67 to hold Holder in criminal contempt. Two Republicans voted nay. Seventeen Democrats voted yes. But most Democrats sat out the vote in protest.
Don’t expect any Democrats to join the effort this year. And the DoJ won’t prosecute Garland.
Republicans know that. And while many want to stand up for the institution, many would prefer to have the issue heading into November. They’ll point to the Biden Justice Department failing to prosecute Garland for not cooperating with Congress. Yet the DoJ prosecuted former Trump aides Steve Bannon and Peter Navarro for failing to comply with subpoenas related to January 6.
Republicans will remind their voters of that. And they were sure to threaten Garland in case former President Trump returns to the White House.
“You know what happened to Peter Navarro and Steve Bannon when they decided to defy a subpoena of the Congress?” asked Rep. Dan Bishop, R-N.C. “Mr. Navarro’s in prison.”
Politics
Jared Kushner’s overseas luxury resort project faces anti-corruption investigation amid violent protests
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Albanian anti-corruption prosecutors are investigating changes to the protected status of a coastal wetland where a luxury resort project linked to Jared Kushner, the son-in-law of U.S. President Donald Trump, has drawn environmental opposition and protests, according to Politico.
SPAK, Albania’s special anti-corruption prosecution office, has opened a probe into changes made to the status of the Vjosa-Narta protected landscape in Zvërnec, Politico reported. The coastal wetland area is home to flamingos, Mediterranean monk seals, and sea turtle nesting sites, Politico reported.
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Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff participate in a charter announcement for President Donald Trump’s Board of Peace initiative in Davos, Switzerland, on Jan. 22, 2026. (Denis Balibouse/Reuters)
In 2024, Kushner publicly discussed plans for his firm, Affinity Partners, to develop luxury tourism projects in Albania, including in the Zvërnec area. Earlier this year, he visited the area with his wife, Ivanka Trump.
Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama recently confirmed to Politico that talks were ongoing between the government and Kushner over the deal, which is expected to include roughly 10,000 hotel rooms and villas.
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Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama speaks during a press conference following the EU-Albania Intergovernmental Conference in Brussels, Belgium, on May 26, 2026. (Daniel Gnap/NurPhoto)
“I want to make Albania a country that is a destination to be envied in the region, and this project is part of this effort,” Rama said Monday.
Fox News Digital has reached out to Affinity Partners and SPAK for comment.
Protests by Albanian citizens and nonprofit groups began in May when large, barbed-wire-topped fences were erected at the proposed site, preventing locals and tourists from accessing the beach. On Sunday, protesters assembled outside government offices to demand an end to the project as well as Rama’s resignation.
Jared Kushner speaks during the inaugural meeting of the Board of Peace at the Donald J. Trump Institute of Peace in Washington, D.C., on Feb. 19, 2026. Kushner is facing pushback in Albania over a luxury development project. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
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Following Sunday’s protests, footage emerged showing private security guards appearing to assault and drag a protester along a cliff. Some guards allegedly threatened other demonstrators who were attempting to remove fences and halt construction.
The licenses of two private security companies were revoked following the incident. Meanwhile, around 15 protesters have been charged, and the local police chief has been stripped of his duties.
Politics
NBC News will put ‘Kornacki Cam’ on the L.A. mayoral, California gubernatorial races
After the polls close in California on Tuesday, NBC News chief data analyst Steve Kornacki will just be getting started.
Since December, the khaki-clad vote-counting guru has been going live and uninterrupted on streaming platforms to provide results and analysis of every special election and even some state Senate contests.
The stream — called the Kornacki Cam — provides unadulterated number crunching without any pundits weighing in. Rather than getting updates that last a few minutes, Kornacki provides continuous real-time results until the last available total is counted.
“This all happens in full view,” Kornacki said Monday in a phone interview. “The audience gets to see the whole thing. They get to see the buildup, the anticipation, the payoff.”
In the 10 Kornacki Cam sessions streamed by NBC News so far, 19 million viewers have sampled them across all platforms. The coverage — consisting of Kornacki, his Big Board, his producer and a Stedicam operator — is available on YouTube, NBCNews.com, the NBC News app and the division’s social media accounts on Instagram, Facebook and TikTok.
The Kornacki Cam will focus on the primaries for Los Angeles mayor, California and several congressional districts, shortly after the state’s polls close at 8 p.m. Pacific. NBC News has its own decision desk, which the network said has called the results of 70% of the 2026 elections ahead of the Associated Press.
In a Monday chat with The Times, here are the trends Kornacki says he’ll be looking for on the night.
Polling in mayoral races is typically pretty unreliable. What do you make of the contest based on what you’ve seen?
You don’t always have super-competitive mayoral elections and they’re not all created equal. It’s not quite like a presidential election so you just don’t have a wealth of data to draw on for expectations either.
I’ve seen the polling you’ve seen. It suggests that of the three candidates (Mayor Karen Bass, reality TV star Spencer Pratt and City Council member Nithya Raman), Bass is in the best position to get into the runoff. It also suggests that Spencer Pratt has had the most positive movement in the last month or so of the campaign. But we go in knowing there will be volatility and I’m open to any and all possibilities.
Spencer Pratt is an unusual candidate who has been able to take up a lot of oxygen in the race. Is there a hidden vote for him that people might not be eager to admit to pollsters?
You can look at the city and know where to look for whether Pratt is having a big night. The San Fernando Valley is gonna be more than a third of the vote, probably close to 40%. If he gets in the general election, he wants to be winning there by a big margin. If it’s not happening there for Pratt, I don’t think it’s happening anywhere else. Karen Bass is going to rely on central and South L.A., with probably a third of the vote coming out of those two places. Those should be her bulwarks. The Westside, I think could be more of a toss-up. There’s a fair chunk of the vote there.
We don’t do a ton of mayoral races around the country. So we’re still trying to figure out exactly how detailed we’re going to be able to zoom in, at the neighborhood level and the precinct level.
Turnouts usually are low for Los Angeles mayoral races. Will this year be different?
This mayoral race has received a lot more national attention than 2022. So my thought is that the turnout would be higher, just based on that. But this is something that is resonating nationally because Pratt has that celebrity factor. The number was 646,000 (total votes) for 2022. So that’s something we’ll be following — are we trending over or under that?
And what will be the best indicators for the gubernatorial race?
The place that I kind of got circled here is Orange County. In the last two sort of major statewide elections, it was the first to report out (its) vote. At 8:06 p.m local time in California, in 2024, Orange County reported out half of its vote, right? So you’re getting, you know, you’re getting hundreds of thousands of votes, potentially, from this enormous county within, potentially within 10 minutes of polls closing. There were a couple others — the Central Valley, and we got a good chunk of Merced and Fresno quickly.
So how long are we going to have to wait for a result on Tuesday night?
One of the other things that just surrounds everything in California, whether it’s the mayor’s race, or governor’s race, or anything else, is nothing is definitive in the first hour or so after the polls close. We’re probably realistically looking at a days or even weeks-long process of getting all the vote counted.
I know it drives many people nuts. Without editorializing on that, it’s just a fact that they can get out of about two-thirds of their vote on election night, and if the races aren’t clear and definitive, then you’re generally in for a pretty long haul.
We do know in California that they’re not going (to count) nonstop until they get a result. They’re going to then start doing updates as they process and count the remaining vote by mail, which is usually a considerable pile in a lot of these places. The vote by mail in California can continue coming in for seven days after the election.
So do you think your coverage reflects a shift in what the consumer wants? We already know how fragmented the audience is. Are there now enough political junkies who want the pure uncut stuff?
I’ve been doing this about 20 years, and when I would tell people that I reported on politics for a living, they either moved away from me or changed the subject. And now, you know, I found the last, you know, 10 years or something, has just totally changed. People come up to me, even if they don’t know I work in politics, and they want to talk politics. Everybody seems into it whatever side they’re on.
Politics
Video: Judge Decides to Keep Charlie Kirk Hearings Open to Public
new video loaded: Judge Decides to Keep Charlie Kirk Hearings Open to Public
transcript
transcript
Judge Decides to Keep Charlie Kirk Hearings Open to Public
Utah district judge, Tony Graf, rejected the defense’s bid to close the hearings in the Charlie Kirk murder case. The defendant, Tyler J. Robinson, is accused of fatally shooting Mr. Kirk, the conservative activist.
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A party seeking to close a preliminary hearing must show that adverse publicity traceable to the opening hearing poses a realistic likelihood of prejudice to a fair trial. Public access to the judicial — to judicial proceedings also serve in an important role in maintaining confidence in the fairness and transparency of the judicial process. This court finds these showings have not been made here.
By Meg Felling
June 1, 2026
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