And the end result will be ... nothing.
You're probably right. But being held in contempt means that they are inches away from being outright jailed. A referral to the AG means that the judge believes that they have committed criminal civil rights violations and should be prosecuted. Garland doesn't want this hot potato and even though he isn't sympathetic to the prisoners, he will have to act. If he doesn't, the judge has the authority to appoint an independent prosecutor who WILL act!
I don't know. More and more I'm getting the impression that even old leftists are sick of the inept old leftists trying to run the government. They're spoiling "the brand."
And our supreme court nominee AG will jump right on the job of ensuring justice is served.