Staff Reports
The House Judiciary Committee is ramping up its efforts to pry loose the audio recording of President Biden’s interview with Special Counsel Robert Hur by taking legal action against Attorney General Merrick Garland in his official capacity. This is not just about getting a piece of tape; it’s about a stubborn resistance to transparency from the current administration and its apparent disdain for accountability.
The lawsuit filed on Monday paints a clear picture: the crux of the issue is a flimsy executive privilege claim that’s blocking House lawmakers from getting their hands on these recordings. Even though the transcripts of the interviews have been publicly released, the actual audio remains elusive. According to the complaint, this whole kerfuffle boils down to a desperate attempt to hide behind executive privilege.
Why Attorney General Merrick Garland Just Got Slapped With a Lawsuit https://t.co/cIJb4kOqJh
— Signal Squid (@SignalSquid) July 2, 2024
Part of the Judiciary Committee’s oversight investigation into the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) so-called commitment to impartial justice and its impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden, the subpoena to Attorney General Merrick Garland sought records related to Special Counsel Robert Hur’s investigation of Biden’s mishandling of classified documents. They’re looking for more than just a paper trail; they want to hear the conversations themselves, including interviews with Biden and Mark Zwonitzer, the ghostwriter of Biden’s 2017 memoir.
Yet, instead of playing ball with Congress, the Justice Department acts like a stubborn mule. Despite repeated subpoenas, which eventually led to Attorney General Garland being held in contempt by Congress, the DOJ is still stonewalling the release of these critical recordings. Rather than comply, Garland asked Biden to invoke executive privilege over the recordings, and Biden didn’t hesitate to go along with it.
This privilege claim that Executive Branch employees would be less likely to cooperate with DOJ investigations if they knew audio recordings could be handed over to Congress is laughably inconsistent with the DOJ’s own actions. They already made the interview transcripts public, so the argument that the audio would do any additional harm doesn’t pass the smell test.
The lawsuit explains that audio recordings are “better evidence than transcripts” because they offer more context, both verbal and nonverbal, that’s lost in mere words on a page. This context is crucial since Special Counsel Hur relied on Biden’s portrayal of himself during their interview—a supposedly well-meaning, elderly man with a shaky memory—when deciding not to prosecute him for unlawfully retaining and disclosing classified information. By blocking the recordings, the administration is essentially saying, “trust us,” without allowing any verification.
The Judiciary Committee’s lawmakers argue that the audio would provide the best insight into how President Biden was depicted during the interview, a depiction that heavily influenced the decision not to prosecute. It’s high time that the Biden administration stopped hiding behind dubious privilege claims and provided the oversight necessary for true justice.
