Staff Reports
Joe Biden’s debate trainwreck against Donald Trump has sparked renewed calls for the controversial Hur tapes. House Republicans are doubling down, pressuring Attorney General Merrick Garland to finally cough up the tapes from Biden’s interview with Special Counsel Robert Hur about his mishandling of classified documents. With Biden’s performance floundering like a fish out of water, conservative lawmakers are sharpening their pitchforks.
Rep. Anna Paulina Luna from Florida wasted no time announcing her intention to hold Garland in inherent contempt, vowing a vote by Friday. Luna believes every legislator has a duty to ensure America has a coherent president, and she argues that only by hearing the Hur tapes can lawmakers accurately assess Biden’s mental acuity. A lawsuit could drag on for eternity, but Luna claims time is of the essence.
How Biden’s debate performance could affect House GOP’s chances at Hur tapes
“Imagine how bad Joe Biden’s multi-hour interview with Special Counsel Robert Hur must be,” Mast wrote. “No wonder the attorney general is risking a jail sentence to keep it hidden from the American… pic.twitter.com/dk8UbFvnDF
— Kenny G (@Texas4Trump_24) June 28, 2024
Naturally, the conservative brigade—Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene and Brian Mast—joined the chorus on social media. Mast speculates that Biden’s multi-hour chat with Hur must be an absolute disaster, suggesting Garland is teetering on the edge of legal peril just to keep it hidden. Greene, never one to mince words, outright accuses Garland of covering up a criminal act. She insists the debate debacle proves Biden’s mental condition is a full-blown crisis—it’s his everyday reality, she claims.
Legal minds are split like a cafeteria salad on how Biden’s stumbling debate performance will impact the fight for the Hur tapes. George Washington University’s Jonathan Turley suggests the president’s disastrous showing in the debate has likely heightened scrutiny on the Department of Justice’s flimsy executive privilege claims. Turley believes that the debate exposed Biden’s struggles to respond unscripted, undermining any assertion that the audiotape holds some sacred confidentiality.
Meanwhile, Case Western Reserve’s Jonathan Entin offers a counterpoint, asserting that the legal validity of executive privilege stands apart from Biden’s stage presence—or lack thereof. Politically, Entin muses that Biden’s faltering performance might diminish the House’s leverage to secure the tape. Why fight for the recording when Biden’s debate mishaps are prime TV material, displaying his cognitive holes for everyone to see?
Stanford’s Michael McConnell chimed in with some realpolitik, noting both sides are gridlocked. Garland rationalizes his behavior, declining to prosecute himself—even after being held in contempt of Congress. Basically, it’s a bureaucratic merry-go-round. McConnell points out that the debate may have already achieved the GOP’s objective: spotlighting Biden’s less-than-stellar mental faculties.
Ultimately, the debate performance that was more akin to a snooze fest than a sparring match has ignited another wave of demand for transparency. House Republicans contend that the visually lackluster Biden wouldn’t last more than five minutes with a special counsel based on the transcript alone. They argue that the true flavor of Biden’s mental state is only captured in the audiotape.
Garland’s stonewalling has led to another vote on his contempt of Congress status, despite the Department of Justice choosing not to pursue charges previously. As the saga continues, Luna, Greene, and the rest of the conservative firebrands show no sign of cooling down in their mission to compel the administration to yield the elusive Hur tapes finally.
