Staff Reports
The Justice Department is saying no to a request from CNN and conservative groups to get their hands on the audio recordings of President Biden’s interview with special counsel Robert Hur. They believe they don’t have to release the recordings under the Freedom of Information Act. They also denied any wrongdoing in their actions, saying they didn’t break any laws by not giving out the recordings. This comes after a judge told the department to speed up its process to decide if the recordings should be made public, following lawsuits from CNN, the Heritage Foundation, and Judicial Watch.
Hur’s interview with President Biden last October has been a big topic of discussion in his investigation into how Mr. Biden dealt with secret documents. The investigation didn’t find enough proof to charge the president with breaking the law, but it did show him as an older man with memory issues. Mr. Hur even said a jury probably wouldn’t find him guilty because of his forgetfulness.
DOJ pushes back on lawsuit to access Biden interview in classified documents probe https://t.co/Vkc0Qkcw8X
— The Washington Times (@WashTimes) May 8, 2024
The Justice Department shared a written record of Biden’s interview after the report came out, but they haven’t let the audio recordings out. Mr. Hur said those recordings helped him decide not to bring charges against Mr. Biden and spoke about them at a recent hearing in Congress.
CNN and the watchdog groups argue that people should be able to hear the recordings to make up their own minds about how Hur described Mr. Biden. They believe the Justice Department is trying to protect the president by not releasing the recordings. The Heritage Foundation says this refusal could be a sign that the interview didn’t go well for the president and thinks it’s connected to why President Biden hasn’t given many interviews.
