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 hand over documents and other materials tied to his work on the president’s memoirs.
The vote on the resolution targeting 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 advance on 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 special counsel Robert Hur released his report declining to recommend charges against Biden over his handling of classified documents.
The committee requested documents and communications between Zwonitzer and Biden or his staff tied 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 memoirs.
Zwonitzer’s attorney previously indicated he would produce the documents, but later said Zwonitzer would not cooperate without a subpoena, the committee said. The committee in March issued a subpoena, one that the panel said Zwonitzer’s attorney challenged.
A Biden campaign spokesperson and Zwonitzer’s attorney did not immediately respond to requests for comment Tuesday.
For months, congressional Republicans have sought to obtain the audio recordings of Biden’s October interview with Hur. The president last month asserted executive privilege over the recordings.
In March, Democrats on the Judiciary Committee published 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 “elderly man with a poor memory,” an assessment that Republicans have sought to use against the president as he campaigns for a second term. Hur also said that the evidence “does not establish Mr. Biden’s guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.”
If the contempt resolution advances on Thursday as expected, the next step would be a House floor vote.
The Republican-controlled House voted to hold Attorney General Merrick Garland in contempt this month for refusing to hand over the audio recordings. The Justice Department declined to bring contempt charges against him.
Rebecca Kaplan reported from Washington, and Zoë Richards from New York.
