Staff Reports
President Biden has made a move to stop the release of audio recordings of his interview with special counsel Robert K. Hur by asserting executive privilege over the materials. He stated that the House Republicans’ request for the recordings is politically motivated.
Biden blocks release of special counsel interview; asserts executive privilege https://t.co/YOp9pQ6H7v
— The Washington Times (@WashTimes) May 16, 2024
House Republicans are planning to vote to hold Attorney General Merrick Garland in contempt of Congress for refusing to hand over the audio recordings. The Justice Department attorneys, in a letter to House Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan and House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, mentioned that Mr. Biden asserted his executive privilege, which they argue would protect Mr. Garland from a contempt vote.
The Justice Department lawyers expressed concerns that releasing the recordings could damage future law enforcement efforts and raise serious separation of powers concerns. White House Counsel Ed Siskel also criticized the effort to obtain the recordings as a politically motivated attempt to embarrass President Biden, stating that it lacked a legitimate purpose beyond using them for partisan political purposes.
In response to the White House’s efforts to prevent the release of the audio recordings, House Speaker Mike Johnson criticized President Biden, suggesting that the tapes may be embarrassing for him in an election year. Mr. Comer argued that the White House had already waived privilege by releasing transcripts of Mr. Biden’s interview with the special counsel and stated that Mr. Biden’s efforts would not delay the contempt vote.
The Trump campaign accused President Biden of politicizing the report and implied that Mr. Biden was using executive privilege to protect himself from potential embarrassment. Special counsel Robert K. Hur, who has resigned from the Justice Department, highlighted the importance of the audio recording during a recent congressional hearing, stating that the recordings were evidence that influenced his decision not to charge Mr. Biden.
The transcript provides details about the report, which depicts Mr. Biden as having a faulty memory and describes him as an elderly man who couldn’t recall significant events during his interview with special counsel investigators. The report also concludes that a jury would likely not convict the president of mishandling documents due to his faulty memory.
