House Republicans are being denied access to the sound tracking of President Joe Biden speaking with special counsel Robert Hur by the Justice Department. If the DOJ refused to provide the sound recording of the Biden discussion, House Republicans threatened Attorney General Merrick Garland with contempt of congress.
Representative Comer requested the Biden administration to transfer the sound of the Hur conversation in a speech posted late on Monday afternoon to X, saying,” It’s odd the Biden Administration is refusing to release the voice of President Biden’s meeting with the Special Counsel after releasing the text. Why does n’t the British people be able to learn the exact sound of his answers”.
Reports from the National Review The DOJ addressed a letter to Jim Jordan ( R., Ohio. ) Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee on Monday. and Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer ( R., Ky. ) expressing regret for the organization’s decision to not turn over the audio recordings.
” However, by the Committees ‘ individual measure, the Department has met your stated technical requirements. According to Assistant Attorney General Carlos Uriarte, a copy of the letter obtained by National Review, the Department has produced the two labeled records you requested, as well as the records of the records of the President’s and Mark Zwonitzer’s interviews that you requested.
The Committees ‘ particular emphasis on continuing to require information that is combined of knowledge we already provided, according to the letter’s author,” the Department is concerned that the Committees ‘ interests may not be in receiving information for genuine oversight or investigation purposes, but rather to offer political purposes that should not have no place in the treatment of law enforcement files,” the letter continues.
Uriarte argued that the committees should not have access to the audio recording and that turning over the audio might discourage future witnesses from cooperating with other investigations going forward.
The DOJ is providing the transcript of Hur’s interview with ghostwriter Mark Zwonitzer, who is mentioned throughout Hur’s final report on Biden’s handling of classified information, to Republican lawmakers. Jordan subpoenaed Zwonitzer in March for the ghostwriter’s interviews with Joe Biden for his book , Promise Me, Dad published after his vice presidency, according to National Review.
After allegedly deleting audio files following Hur’s appointment as special counsel, Zwonitzer eventually cooperated with Hur’s investigation and turned over the relevant files in his possession.
Hur’s investigation found evidence Biden “willfully” retained classified information, but the special counsel did not recommend criminal charges against the sitting president. The observations Hur made about Biden’s advanced age brought fresh scrutiny to Biden, 82, and his mental acuities.
Additionally, Hur defended his remarks about Biden’s advanced age in a testimony given last month before the Judiciary Committee as evidence that was required to decide whether or not to bring charges against him. The White House requested Hur soften the report’s language on Biden’s age before it was published, Hur confirmed. The Biden administration also sought to influence how Hur’s report and its findings on how Biden handled classified information were covered in the media.
