Nassau legislators’ votes to hold Attorney General Merrick Garland in contempt of Congress fell along party lines, with Republicans voting yes and Democrats voting no.

The Justice Department said Friday Garland will not be prosecuted after the Republican-controlled House voted Wednesday to hold him in contempt of Congress.

The vote came after Garland failed to turn over audio from special counsel Robert Hur’s October 2023 interview with President Joe Biden about his handling of classified documents.

Republicans applauded the vote to hold Garland in contempt and said the attorney general meddled with the oversight process.

“It is up to Congress – not the Executive Branch – to determine what materials it needs to conduct its own investigations, and there are consequences for refusing to comply with lawful Congressional subpoenas,” Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson said in a statement. “Congress has a responsibility to conduct oversight of the Special Counsel’s work and specifically Special Counsel Hur’s determination not to prosecute President Biden for the clear violation of the law.”

Rep. Anthony D’Esposito, who represents District 4, voted in favor of holding Garland in contempt, along with every other Nassau Republican legislator.

“Attorney General Merrick Garland refused to comply with a subpoena requesting information on Special Counsel Hur’s investigation into President Biden, hindering Congress’s ability to engage in constitutionally protected oversight,” D’Esposito said in a statement. “I voted to hold Garland in contempt of Congress for flagrantly obstructing the work of the House of Representatives by willfully ignoring congressional subpoenas.”

The Island Park representative is running for re-election with the endorsement of former President Donald Trump. He has been outspoken on a number of recent issues, including his disapproval of the MTA congestion pricing plan and pro-Palestinian college protests at Columbia University.

Republican Mike LiPetri, who is running to represent District 3, called the House vote a “common sense” move.

“This is about oversight and accountability. Holding AG Garland in contempt of Congress is a direct result of his own refusal to comply with these legal subpoenas and release the audio recordings,” LiPetri said in a statement. “Actions have consequences – he ignored the subpoenas, he was held in contempt.”

The former state Assemblyman is vying for the current seat of Democratic Rep. Tom Suozzi, who flipped the seat to blue in a special election in February and replaced disgraced former Rep. George Santos.

Efforts to reach Suozzi, who voted against Garland’s impeachment, were unavailing.

Democrats attacked the House vote and criticized Republicans for their weaponization of the justice system.

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee slammed D’Esposito’s vote, calling it part of a “sham, conspiracy-ridden investigation.”

“Anthony D’Esposito has totally given up on delivering for everyday Nassau County families,” DCCC Spokesperson Ellie Dougherty said in a statement. “Instead of finding bipartisan solutions to the problems facing our nation, D’Esposito is too busy targeting our law enforcement agencies to prop up Donald Trump. Shame on him.”

After the October 2023 interview with the president, Hur declined to prosecute Biden and said the president would likely present himself to a jury “as a sympathetic, well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory.”

Though the audio was not turned over, a transcript of the interview was made public.

The 216-207 contempt of Congress vote was a politically divided one, with just one Republican representative – David Joyce of Ohio – voting no. All participating Democrats voted no. Seven Democrats and one Republican did not vote.

“It is deeply disappointing that this House of Representatives has turned a serious congressional authority into a partisan weapon,” Garland said in a statement Wednesday evening. “Today’s vote disregards the constitutional separation of powers, the Justice Department’s need to protect its investigations, and the substantial amount of information we have provided to the committees.”

Republican legislators subpoenaed the interview audio as part of the GOP-led impeachment inquiry into Biden. Republicans condemned Hur for not pursuing prosecution while Democrats criticized the special counsel for his comments about the president’s age and memory.

Biden exerted executive privilege in May to block the release of the interview recording.

The Justice Department did not turn over all of the subpoenaed material, leaving out the audio in question out of concern it could jeopardize future investigations.