If the contempt resolution against Attorney General Merrick Garland succeeds, House Speaker Mike Johnson would certify the report to the United States attorney for the District of Columbia. Under law, this certification then requires the US attorney to 'bring the matter before the grand jury for its action,' but the Justice Department will also make its own determinations for prosecuting.
Democrats have used the process several times as they ran into uncooperative allies and former aides to Trump during their investigation into the January 6, 2021, attack on the US Capitol.
The Department of Justice ultimately did not pursue charges against Trump aide Dan Scavino and former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows. However, federal prosecutors did take two Trump allies, Stephen Bannon and former White House trade adviser Peter Navarro, to trial on the criminal contempt charges.
