Washington — The Justice Division rejected a request from two Republican-led Home committees that it flip over an audio recording of former particular counsel Robert Hur’s interview with President Joe Biden.
The division mentioned the committees had not recognized an “investigative function” for his or her request of the audio and accused them of “escalation” and of looking for battle “for battle’s sake,” in response to a letter despatched to Chairs Jim Jordan and James Comer on Monday and obtained by CBS Information.
The Home Judiciary and Oversight Committees issued subpoenas for the audio recording and different supplies from the investigation — together with transcripts of particular interviews — after Hur issued his report in February on Mr. Biden’s dealing with of categorised data from his time as vp.
Hur’s year-long investigation started after the invention of paperwork with categorised markings in Mr. Biden’s residence and workplace. Hur opted to not pursue prison prices within the matter, however criticized the president’s recordkeeping and wrote critically of the president’s reminiscence throughout an October 2023 interview with investigators.
In his critique of Mr. Biden’s conduct, Hur alleged the then-former vp “shared info, together with some categorised info,” with a ghostwriter as he wrote a memoir. Prosecutors finally concluded that prison prices weren’t the “correct treatment,” in response to Hur’s report.
Hur, having accomplished his investigation and report, is not employed by the Justice Division, however the division nonetheless maintains management over the proof he gathered throughout the probe and beforehand supplied the committees with a full transcript of Mr. Biden’s interview with Hur and his crew.
And whereas the Justice Division additionally supplied congressional investigators with the transcript of the ghostwriter’s interview with prosecutors, in response to Monday’s letter, it didn’t meet the Monday deadline to show over the audio recording of the president’s two-day sit down from October
“[I]t is vital for the Division to know why the Committees consider they’ve a remaining want for the data in these recordsdata,” Assistant Lawyer Normal Carolos Uriarte wrote in his letter.
He wrote the Justice Division had “labored diligently” to reply to congressional requests and argued that on account of these efforts, the committees had already “acquired a rare quantity of data—and shortly.”
Uriarte mentioned the Justice Division was “involved” that Jordan and Comer’s requests for the audio model of the interview — regardless of having already reviewed a transcript — was meant to “serve political functions that shouldn’t have any function within the therapy of legislation enforcement recordsdata.”
Releasing the audio recordsdata to Congress, he wrote Monday, risked “chilling” future investigations if witnesses feared that audio variations of their interviews may be launched.
Once they issued the subpoenas in February, congressional Republicans mentioned they wanted entry to all requested supplies just like the audio recording to conduct oversight over Hur’s probe and additional consider Mr. Biden’s conduct.
They later accused federal officers of withholding related info and threatened Lawyer Normal Merrick Garland with contempt proceedings.
The Home Oversight Committee mentioned in an announcement, “The Biden Administration doesn’t get to find out what Congress wants and doesn’t want for its oversight of the manager department.”
“It is curious the Biden Administration is refusing to launch the audio of President Biden’s interview with the Particular Counsel after releasing the transcript,” the committee’s assertion continued. “Why should not the American folks have the ability to hear the precise audio of his solutions? The American folks demand transparency from their leaders, not obstruction.” The committee mentioned it could reply to the Justice Division quickly.
A spokesperson for the Justice Division declined to remark.
Hur alleged in his report that close to the beginning of his federal probe, the ghostwriter had deleted audio filings tied to the categorised info Mr. Biden is accused of sharing with him. “The recordings had important evidentiary worth,” the report mentioned. However the FBI was in a position to get better the deleted recordsdata from the ghostwriter’s laptop. The federal government thought of charging the ghostwriter with obstruction however finally determined in opposition to it, based mostly on their findings.
The previous particular counsel’s description of Mr. Biden’s reminiscence prompted an outcry from the president and his allies. Mr. Biden pushed again quickly after the report was launched, saying his reminiscence was “superb.”
The transcript of Hur’s October interview with Mr. Biden was launched shortly earlier than Hur testified earlier than Congress final month and supplied a fuller image of the five-hour dialog. Whereas Mr. Biden did stumble over some dates and struggled to search out a number of phrases, he additionally recalled many particular particulars from years earlier.