House Republicans Launch Lawsuit
The GOP-led House Judiciary Committee is taking legal action against Attorney General Merrick Garland, seeking the release of audio recordings from President Joe Biden’s interview with Special Counsel Robert Hur. This lawsuit, filed on Monday, comes amid ongoing scrutiny over Biden’s handling of classified documents and the Justice Department’s decision not to prosecute him.
Earlier this year, the Biden administration invoked executive privilege to block the release of the audio from the two-day interview. During this interview, Hur questioned President Biden about his handling of classified documents. The House Judiciary Committee’s lawsuit argues that Biden’s assertion of executive privilege is “frivolous” and that the audio recordings are crucial for lawmakers to investigate the Justice Department’s actions in the case properly.
“The Committee thus needs those recordings to assess the Special Counsel’s characterization of the President, which he and White House lawyers have forcefully disputed, and ultimate recommendation that President Biden should not be prosecuted,” the lawsuit states.
Special Counsel Hur concluded that no charges should be brought against Biden, despite finding that Biden improperly retained classified documents while out of office. Hur’s report noted that Biden had difficulty recalling specific dates, such as when his son died or his tenure as vice president. The report suggested that a jury might perceive Biden, who is now 81, as “a sympathetic, well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory.”
The House Judiciary Committee’s lawsuit requests that the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia overturn the assertion of executive privilege and compel Garland to release the tapes. Lawmakers argue that the audio recordings will provide critical verbal and nonverbal context that is missing from the available interview transcripts.
“That verbal and nonverbal context is quite important here because the Special Counsel relied on the way that President Biden presented himself during their interview — ’as a sympathetic, well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory’ — when ultimately recommending that President Biden should not be prosecuted for unlawfully retaining and disclosing classified information,” the suit emphasizes.
The Committee contends that the audio recordings, rather than the written transcripts, are the best evidence of how President Biden presented himself during the interview.
Earlier efforts by House Republicans to hold Garland in contempt over the tapes were unsuccessful, as the Department of Justice declined to prosecute.
As this legal battle unfolds, it highlights the tension between executive privilege and congressional oversight. The outcome of this lawsuit could have significant implications for how sensitive information is handled and accessed in future investigations.