Attorney General Merrick Garland told Congress he plans to make special counsel Jack Smith’s report on the cases against Donald Trump available to committee leaders and, ultimately, the public, once courts allow, marking the formal end of Smith’s office.

Garland noted he believes even the part of the report about the classified documents case should be public someday.

The U.S. Department of Justice said it disrupted a Russian propaganda campaign using fake social media accounts, powered by artificial intelligence, to spread disinformation in the U.S. and other countries.

The bot farm used AI to create profiles impersonating Americans on X, formerly known as Twitter, and to post support for Russia's war in Ukraine and other pro-Kremlin narratives.

US officials say they have taken action against an AI-powered information operation run from Russia, including nearly 1,000 accounts pretending to be Americans.

The accounts on X were designed to spread pro-Russia stories but were automated “bots” - not real people.

In court documents made public Tuesday the US justice department said the operation was devised by a deputy editor at Kremlin-owned RT, formerly Russia Today.

RT runs TV channels in English and several other languages, but appears much more popular on social media than on conventional airwaves.

The U.S. Department of Justice recently seized control of two internet domains and searched 968 accounts on the X social media platform, which it accused of helping spread disinformation for the Russian government.

The seizures were part of an FBI investigation into an alleged artificial intelligence-enhanced social media bot farm that has created hundreds of fake social media profiles purportedly of U.S. residents, according to a June 27 search warrant affidavit. The affidavit says the accounts promoted messages that support Russian government objectives.

Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) is calling for the House of Representatives to take its contempt of Congress case against Attorney General Merrick Garland to court after the Department of Justice said it would not pursue charges. 

Johnson will be “certifying the contempt records to the U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia,” according to CNN, while moving to “enforce the subpoena of Attorney General Garland in federal court.”

House Republicans, keen to keep up a steady stream of criticism about the Biden administration as the 2024 campaign kicks into high gear, are now going after Attorney General Merrick Garland. 

The House voted Wednesday to hold Attorney General Merrick Garland in contempt of Congress for refusing to turn over audio of President Joe Biden’s interview in his classified documents case, Republicans’ latest and strongest rebuke of the Justice Department as partisan conflict over the rule of law animates the 2024 presidential campaign.

The 216-207 vote fell along party lines, with Republicans coalescing behind the contempt effort despite reservations among some of the party’s more centrist members. Only one Republican — Rep. David Joyce of Ohio — voted against it.

House Republicans voted Wednesday to hold Attorney General Merrick Garland in contempt of Congress after he declined to turn over subpoenaed audio of President Biden’s interview with special counsel Robert Hur.

The 216-207 vote is a win for the House GOP, after numerous members privately voiced concern over backing the measure, leaving the Republican priority lingering for nearly a month. With Republicans’ razor-thin House majority, they could afford to lose only two votes if every member was present.

Rep. Dave Joyce (R-Ohio) was the lone GOP “no” vote.

The House held Attorney General Merrick Garland in contempt of Congress on Wednesday for his refusal to turn over the audio recording of President Joe Biden’s classified documents interview with special counsel Robert Hur.

All Republicans but one voted for the resolution that holds Garland in contempt for refusing to comply with a subpoena. House GOP leaders have been persistent in their requests for the audio recording, while Garland and House Democrats have claimed the recording is unnecessary because the transcript is already public.