President Joe Biden refused to turn audio files of his interview with Special Counsel Robert Hur over to congressional Republicans on Thursday, invoking executive privilege over the recordings. Biden’s refusal, delivered to ranking GOP members via an open letter, came as Republicans threatened to hold Attorney General Merrick Garland in contempt of Congress for not turning over the recordings.
The audio files at the center of the controversy were created during President Biden’s two-day interview with Special Counsel Hur regarding his alleged mishandling of classified documents. As Valuetainment previously reported, Hur ultimately declined to bring charges against Biden—but his assessment of the president as “a sympathetic, well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory” only created more problems for the 81-year-old executive.
While the White House disputed Hur’s characterization, Republicans seized on it, also pointing out multiple other transcribed incidents of Biden forgetting key details or providing investigators with false information. GOP lawmakers claimed that tapes of the interview contain additional information not included in the official transcripts and attempted to compel Attorney General Garland to turn over the recordings. Audio of the interviews with Mark Zwonitzer, Biden’s ghostwriter, were also requested.
The Department of Justice countered by citing privacy concerns, claiming that Republicans were seeking the tapes only for political purposes.
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Members of the House Oversight and Judiciary Committees were hours away from initiating contempt of Congress proceedings against Garland when Chairmen James Comer (R-KY) and Jim Jordan (R-OH) received the White House letter.
“Because of the President’s longstanding commitment to protecting the integrity, effectiveness, and independence of the Department of Justice and its law enforcement investigations, he has decided to assert executive privilege over the recordings,” White House Counsel Edward N. Siskel wrote, asserting that Biden’s “respect for the rule of law” led him to cooperate with the initial investigation.
The letter continued:
The President has a duty to safeguard the integrity and independence of Executive Branch law enforcement functions and protect them from undue partisan interference that could weaken those functions in the future.
…
The absence of a legitimate need for the audio recordings lays bare your likely goal—to chop them up, distort them, and use them for partisan political purposes.
…
Rather than demonstrating respect for the rule of law, this contempt proceeding is just the latest in the Committees’ damaging efforts to undermine the very independence and impartiality of the Department of Justice and criminal justice system that President Biden seeks to protect.
“The President will continue to protect the rule of law, and his Administration will continue to work in good faith to accommodate Congress’s legitimate interests, while standing up to improper threats to the independence of the nation’s justice system.”
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A similar correspondence from Assistant Attorney General Carlos Uriarte declared that “it is the longstanding position of the executive branch held by administrations of both parties that an official who asserts the President’s claim of executive privilege cannot be prosecuted for criminal contempt of Congress.”
Related: Joe Biden Lied to Federal Agents About His “Political Origin Story”
Despite the president’s claim of executive privilege, both Republican-led committees are pressing ahead with the contempt proceedings. The Judiciary Committee stated that the audio files “are necessary to determine whether sufficient grounds exist to draft” articles of impeachment against Biden, and a committee hearing to bring charges against Garland began Thursday morning as planned.
Rep. Comer declared that the “Hail Mary from the White House changes nothing for our committee” and recommended that Merrick be found guilty of defying a lawful subpoena.
“It’s a five-alarm fire at the White House. Clearly President Biden and his advisors fear releasing the audio recordings of his interview because it will again reaffirm to the American people that President Biden’s mental state is in decline,” Comer said. “The House Oversight Committee requires these recordings as part of our investigation of President Biden’s mishandling of classified documents. The White House is asserting executive privilege over the recordings, but it has already waived privilege by releasing the transcript of the interview.”
Connor Walcott is a staff writer for Valuetainment.com. Follow Connor on X and look for him on VT’s “The Unusual Suspects.”
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