On Thursday, the GOP-led <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/u-s-house-of-representatives" target="_blank" rel="noopener">House</a> shot down an effort to use its rarely-employed inherent contempt power against Attorney General <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/merrick-garland" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Merrick Garland</a> for refusing to share audio from the classified documents probe against President <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/joe-biden" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Joe Biden</a>.
Four Republicans and 206 Democrats <a href="https://clerk.house.gov/Votes/2024353" target="_blank" rel="noopener">voted</a> against the <a href="https://www.congress.gov/bill/118th-congress/house-resolution/1344/text" target="_blank" rel="noopener">resolution</a>, which sought to fine Garland $10,000 a day until he stopped defying a subpoena for the tapes, while 204 Republicans and no Democrats supported it. Twelve Republicans and seven Democrats did not vote.
The lawmakers who <a href="https://x.com/ChadPergram/status/1811423920571949233" target="_blank" rel="noopener">broke ranks</a> included Dave Joyce (R-OH), Mike Turner (R-OH), Tom McClintock (R-CA), and John Duarte (R-CA).
Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-FL), who introduced the resolution, said she planned to try again in the future. &#8220;Republican bills went down today. We will bring the vote back to the Floor with legislative appropriations when Members are here,&#8221; she <a href="https://x.com/RepLuna/status/1811421210678604049" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> in a post to X.
The congresswoman <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/luna-plans-to-call-up-vote-on-empowering-house-sergeant-at-arms-to-detain-garland" target="_blank" rel="noopener">previously floated</a> a resolution to hold Garland in inherent contempt of Congress that would have empowered the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/u-s-house-of-representatives" target="_blank" rel="noopener">House</a> sergeant-at-arms to detain the Biden Cabinet official until he complied with the subpoenas, but Luna ultimately <a href="https://x.com/realannapaulina/status/1806756081684693072" target="_blank" rel="noopener">opted</a> to go with the fines.
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At issue are audio files of interviews with Biden and his ghostwriter, Mark Zwonitzer. Special counsel Robert Hur&#8217;s team declined to recommend charges against Biden, who is running for re-election, but described him as a “sympathetic, well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory.&#8221;
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House Republicans subpoenaed Garland for the tapes in a standoff with the Department of Justice, which <a href="https://bentkey.namely.com/users/login" target="_blank" rel="noopener">claimed</a> that sharing the audio with Congress would impede future investigations. Meanwhile, Democrats argued that their GOP colleagues&#8217; actions were tainted by politics.
Lawmakers managed to obtain transcripts of the interviews, but Republicans insisted that they still needed the audio to conduct oversight and pushed forward with regular contempt of Congress proceedings, even after Biden asserted executive privilege over the tapes.
The House voted in June mostly along party lines — with Joyce as the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/sole-republican-to-oppose-garland-contempt-explains-vote" target="_blank" rel="noopener">one GOP defector</a>— to hold Garland in contempt, after which the Judiciary Committee <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/house-republicans-sue-for-access-to-audio-tapes-of-biden-classified-documents-probe-interview" target="_blank" rel="noopener">sued</a> Garland on July 1, asking a D.C. federal court to overrule executive privilege assertion and make Garland produce the tapes.
Biden is increasingly facing a crisis of confidence among Democrats after the 81-year-old appeared confused and lost his train of thought during his debate against former President Donald Trump a little more than two weeks ago, but so far has refused to bow out of the race.

Merrick Garland, US attorney general

Bid To Fine Garland $10K A Day Fails In House

Bid To Fine Garland $10K A Day For Withholding Biden Docs Case Audio Fails In House

Biden Administration

Congress

Department of Justice

House Republicans

Merrick Garland

Politics

Robert Hur

U.S. House of Representatives

The GOP-led House Judiciary Committee sued Attorney General <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/merrick-garland" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Merrick Garland</a> on Monday, requesting that a judge order the audio of President <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/joe-biden" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Joe Biden</a>’s interview with Special Counsel Robert Hur be released. 
Earlier this year, the Biden administration asserted executive privilege to block release of the audio of the two-day interview in which Hur pressed the president over his handling of classified documents. The <a href="https://judiciary.house.gov/sites/evo-subsites/republicans-judiciary.house.gov/files/evo-media-document/Audio%20subpoena%20as-filed%20complaint.pdf?_gl=1*hemqeb*_ga*MTQ5OTU4ODcxNS4xNzE5NDk1MzEz*_ga_1818ZEQW81*MTcxOTg1OTIzMi4xLjEuMTcxOTg1OTIzNC4wLjAuMA.." target="_blank" rel="noopener">lawsuit</a> from the Judiciary Committee says Biden&#8217;s assertion of executive privilege is “frivolous” and the audio of the interviews is important for lawmaker’s inquiry into the Justice Department’s handling of the Biden documents investigation. 
“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 suit says.
Hur recommended no charges for Biden despite the fact he found Biden improperly retained classified documents while out of office, noting his team found that Biden struggled to remember the dates his son died or when he was vice president. 
A jury would view Biden, who is now 81, as “a sympathetic, well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory,&#8221; Hur&#8217;s report <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/special-counsel-biden-has-significantly-limited-memory-didnt-remember-when-he-was-vp-or-when-son-died" target="_blank" rel="noopener">concluded</a>.
The House Judiciary Committee suit asks the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia to overrule the assertion of executive privilege and make Garland produce the tapes. House lawmakers say the audio will provide important verbal and nonverbal context missing from the transcripts of the interview that have been made available. 
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&#8220;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,&#8221; the suit says.
&#8220;The audio recordings, not the cold transcripts, are the best available evidence of how President Biden presented himself during the interview,” the suit adds. 
House Republicans previously <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/house-votes-to-hold-garland-in-contempt-for-withholding-biden-docs-case-audio#:~:text=The%20GOP%2Dled%20House%20passed,by%20special%20counsel%20Robert%20Hur." target="_blank" rel="noopener">voted</a> to hold Garland in contempt over the tapes, but the DOJ declined to prosecute.

Department Of Justice Announces Nationwide Health Care Fraud Enforcement Action

House Republicans Sue For Access To Audio Tapes Of Biden Classified Documents Probe Interview

classified documents

House Judiciary Committee

Joe Biden

Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-FL) is urging colleagues to support her resolution to empower the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/u-s-house-of-representatives" target="_blank" rel="noopener">House</a> sergeant-at-arms to detain Attorney General <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/merrick-garland" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Merrick Garland</a>.
The <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/house-sergeant-at-arms-could-take-garland-into-custody-under-gop-proposal" target="_blank" rel="noopener">measure</a> comes in response to Garland refusing to share audio from the classified documents probe against President <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/joe-biden" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Joe Biden</a> in compliance with subpoenas.
Luna posted a photo to X on Monday showing a hand holding a stack of envelopes and stating that her team was delivering a letter to every other House Republican.
In the letter, which has been <a href="https://x.com/RepLuna/status/1805279017609601368" target="_blank" rel="noopener">shared</a> online, Luna said she plans to call up her resolution to hold Garland in inherent contempt of Congress in &#8220;the next few days.&#8221;
&#8220;The urgency of this situation cannot be overstated,&#8221; Luna wrote in the missive. &#8220;Our ability to legislate effectively and fulfill our constitutional duties is at stake.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Read the letter: <a href="https://t.co/vUmNepV9dO">https://t.co/vUmNepV9dO</a>
&mdash; Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (@RepLuna) <a href="https://twitter.com/RepLuna/status/1805280640713031784?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 24, 2024</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
At issue are audio files of interviews with Biden and his ghostwriter, Mark Zwonitzer, conducted as part of special counsel Robert Hur&#8217;s classified documents investigation.
Hur&#8217;s team declined to recommend charges against Biden, who is running for re-election, but described him as a “sympathetic, well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory.&#8221;
The Department of Justice (DOJ) <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/justice-department/doj-wont-prosecute-merrick-garland-house-gop-held-contempt-biden-tapes-rcna157261" target="_blank" rel="noopener">refuses</a> to prosecute Garland despite the House <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/house-votes-to-hold-garland-in-contempt-for-withholding-biden-docs-case-audio" target="_blank" rel="noopener">voting</a> to hold him in contempt because Biden <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/biden-asserts-executive-privilege-over-tapes-in-docs-probe" target="_blank" rel="noopener">asserted</a> executive privilege over the tapes.
Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) <a href="https://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/justice-department-prosecute-garland-contempt-refusal-provide-audio-111134793" target="_blank" rel="noopener">has vowed</a> to take legal action as the next step, but Luna is not waiting around to see whether a court battle will produce results.
Luna&#8217;s <a href="https://luna.house.gov/posts/breaking-rep-luna-introduces-resolution-to-hold-attorney-general-merrick-garland-in-inherent-contempt-of-congress" target="_blank" rel="noopener">resolution</a>, if enacted, could lead to the House sergeant-at-arms <a href="https://www.politico.com/live-updates/2024/05/16/congress/garland-contempt-vote-00158433" target="_blank" rel="noopener">taking Garland into custody</a> if the attorney general continues to defy the subpoenas.
It would be the first time one of the chambers of Congress has used its inherent contempt powers <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/politics/wp/2018/01/18/congress-ability-to-twist-arms-is-limited-unless-it-wants-to-arrest-bannon-itself/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">to hold</a> someone <a href="https://www.usnews.com/news/national-news/articles/2024-06-11/what-is-contempt-of-congress-and-why-does-it-matter#:~:text=The%20third%20option%20is%20a,1934%20under%20the%20Hoover%20administration." target="_blank" rel="noopener">since 1934</a> during the Hoover administration.
Lawmakers got transcripts of the interviews but Republicans say they need the audio for oversight purposes. Democrats claim their GOP colleagues are motivated by politics.
Fox News reported Garland <a href="https://x.com/ChadPergram/status/1804268648216887592" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reached out</a> to moderate Republicans, pressing them to reject Luna&#8217;s effort. There may be an attempt to table the measure before it gets a final vote.
Rep. Dave Joyce (R-OH) is the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/sole-republican-to-oppose-garland-contempt-explains-vote" target="_blank" rel="noopener">sole member</a> of the House GOP who broke ranks and joined with Democrats in voting against holding Garland in contempt earlier this month.
“As a former prosecutor, I cannot in good conscience support a resolution that would further politicize our judicial system to score political points,” he said in a statement.
Joyce added, &#8220;The American people expect Congress to work for them, solve policy problems, and prioritize good governance. Enough is enough.&#8221;

Attorney General Merrick Garland

House Could Vote On Measure Empowering House Sergeant-At-Arms To Detain Biden Official

Luna Plans To Call Up Vote On Empowering House Sergeant-At-Arms To Detain Garland

U.S.

A House Republican spoke on Sunday about employing inherent contempt of Congress to hold Attorney General <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/merrick-garland" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Merrick Garland</a> &#8220;accountable&#8221; for refusing to share audio from the classified documents probe against President <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/joe-biden" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Joe Biden</a>.
Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-FL) told Fox News host Maria Bartiromo about her <a href="https://luna.house.gov/posts/breaking-rep-luna-introduces-resolution-to-hold-attorney-general-merrick-garland-in-inherent-contempt-of-congress" target="_blank" rel="noopener">resolution</a> that, if enacted, could lead to the House sergeant-at-arms <a href="https://www.politico.com/live-updates/2024/05/16/congress/garland-contempt-vote-00158433" target="_blank" rel="noopener">taking Garland into custody</a> if the attorney general continues to defy congressional subpoenas.
&#8220;What that allows Congress to do is really be the punitive arm and really hold Garland accountable by using the sergeant at arms to essentially go and get him, as well as the tapes, bring him to the well of the House,&#8221; Luna said.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Luna says her resolution to have the House Sergeant at Arms arrest Attorney General Merrick Garland will be coming up for a vote <a href="https://t.co/dMpEyizoDK">pic.twitter.com/dMpEyizoDK</a>
&mdash; Acyn (@Acyn) <a href="https://twitter.com/Acyn/status/1802350460004978779?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 16, 2024</a></blockquote>
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Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) <a href="https://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/justice-department-prosecute-garland-contempt-refusal-provide-audio-111134793" target="_blank" rel="noopener">has vowed</a> to bring the fight to court after the Department of Justice said it would refuse to prosecute Garland <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/house-votes-to-hold-garland-in-contempt-for-withholding-biden-docs-case-audio" target="_blank" rel="noopener">for contempt of Congress</a> because Biden <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/biden-asserts-executive-privilege-over-tapes-in-docs-probe" target="_blank" rel="noopener">asserted</a> executive privilege over the tapes.
Luna isn&#8217;t getting her hopes up and pitched her resolution as a more viable option for House Republicans to &#8220;really be a check and balance&#8221; against the Department of Justice (DOJ) with a move that &#8220;hasn&#8217;t been done since the early 1900s.&#8221;
She added, &#8220;That vote will be coming to the floor. And, hopefully, we will be able to bring some accountability. I know that, if this goes to courts, as Johnson has stated, that&#8217;s really going to get stuck there. It&#8217;s not going to do anything.&#8221;
The GOP-led House seeks tapes of special counsel Robert Hur&#8217;s two-day interview with Biden and discussion with Biden&#8217;s ghostwriter, Mark Zwonitzer, after the release of a report describing the president as an &#8220;elderly man with a poor memory.&#8221;
House Republicans obtained transcripts, but they said they still needed the audio to conduct oversight and pushed forward with contempt of Congress proceedings. Democrats claim the actions of their GOP colleagues are tainted by politics.
The DOJ claims sharing the audio would <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/garland-under-threat-of-contempt-calls-house-gops-request-for-biden-tapes-illegitimate" target="_blank" rel="noopener">impede future investigations</a> and <a href="https://thehill.com/homenews/house/4718115-garland-contempt-doj-memo/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">insisted</a> Garland is shielded from prosecution because of executive privilege. Garland had <a href="https://thehill.com/homenews/house/4718951-merrick-garland-contempt-partisan-weapon/#:~:text=Attorney%20General%20Merrick%20Garland%20accused,authority%20into%20a%20partisan%20weapon.">said</a> the House turned &#8220;a serious congressional authority into a partisan weapon.&#8221;
Luna previously said in a <a href="https://x.com/RepLuna/status/1800996212218138997" target="_blank" rel="noopener">post</a> to X that if the DOJ has not indicted Garland by June 25, she will &#8220;call a vote to hold him in inherent contempt of Congress, and he will be forced to produce the recordings or be held by the Sergeant at Arms.&#8221;

Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-FL)

House Sergeant-At-Arms Could Take Garland Into Custody Under GOP Proposal

The ghostwriter of President <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/joe-biden" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Joe Biden&#8217;s</a> memoir told federal investigators that he deleted audio recordings of his interview with Biden after learning that a special counsel was appointed by the U.S. Department of Justice to launch a criminal investigation into Biden&#8217;s handling of classified information.
Axios <a href="https://www.axios.com/2024/06/14/biden-ghostwriter-deleted-recordings-special-counsel-documents" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a> that writer Mark Zwonitzer told federal authorities that he deleted the recordings after Special Counsel Robert Hur was appointed to investigate Biden because he feared the recordings getting out into the public domain.
&#8220;I was very concerned about the possibility of being hacked,&#8221; he claimed, according to a partial transcript of his interview with investigators. &#8220;I was very concerned about the possibility of this audio spread all over the place.&#8221;
He said that he saved the transcripts of what Biden allegedly said and that deleting audio recordings was &#8220;something &#8230; I do as a &#8230; rule anyway.&#8221;
The Wall Journal <a href="https://www.wsj.com/politics/policy/merrick-garland-special-counsel-justice-department-under-fire-4608467b" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a> earlier this month that Attorney General Merrick Garland was stunned when he learned about Biden&#8217;s conduct during the interview, that the then-vice president admitted on a recording to having classified material in his house and was discussing that material with someone who was not authorized to receive it.
According to the transcript, investigators said to Zwonitzer that the average outside observer is going to look at what he did and conclude that his actions were spurred by wanting to protect Biden from investigators.
&#8220;And I assume — and it&#8217;s okay, I just need the truth on this one, but there&#8217;s some truth in that, that was what was going on,&#8221; investigators said. &#8220;That was part of your motivation, at least something you were aware of when you did this?&#8221;&#8221;
Zwonitzer responded: &#8220;I&#8217;m not going to say how much of the percentage it was of my motivation. I was aware that there was an investigation.&#8221;
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He claimed that no one connected to the president reached out to him.
Hur decided not to prosecute Zwonitzer because they believed that he &#8220;offered plausible, innocent reasons for why he deleted the recordings.&#8221;
&#8220;Zwonitzer willingly provided significant cooperation to the investigation without seeking or receiving any protections or assurances,&#8221; Hur added. &#8220;He was forthright in describing his conduct and working with investigators to obtain all relevant evidence in his possession.&#8221;
One of the reasons Hur declined to prosecute Biden was the president&#8217;s mental fitness, or lack thereof.
“Mr. Biden’s memory was significantly limited, both during his recorded interviews with the ghostwriter in 2017 [with whom he shared classified materials], and in his interview with our office in 2023,” the report said in its executive summary. “We have also considered that, at trial, Mr. Biden would likely present himself to a jury, as he did during our interview of him, as a sympathetic, well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory.”
Prosecutors said that based on the way that Biden presents, jurors will “want to identify reasonable doubt” and that it would be “difficult to convince a jury that they should convict him — by then a former president well into his eighties — of a serious felony that requires a mental state of willfulness.”

G7 Leaders Summit – Day One

Biden’s Ghostwriter Deleted Audio Recordings On Biden After Learning About Criminal Probe: Report

Executive

The GOP-led <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/u-s-house-of-representatives" target="_blank" rel="noopener">House</a> passed a resolution on Wednesday to hold Attorney General <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/merrick-garland" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Merrick Garland</a> in contempt of Congress for withholding subpoenaed recordings from the investigation into President <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/joe-biden" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Joe Biden</a>&#8216;s handling of classified documents led by special counsel <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/robert-hur" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Robert Hur</a>.
In a vote <a href="https://x.com/CraigCaplan/status/1800993155715678335" target="_blank" rel="noopener">largely party-line vote</a>, 216 Republicans backed the measure while 206 Democrats and one Republican opposed it. Eight members, including one Republican and seven Democrats, did not vote. Rep. Dave Joyce (R-OH) was the <a href="https://x.com/liz_elkind/status/1800993131959112057" target="_blank" rel="noopener">sole</a> Republican who <a href="https://x.com/AndrewSolender/status/1800993826602967454" target="_blank" rel="noopener">voted against the resolution</a>.
&#8220;We can&#8217;t allow the Department of Justice, an executive branch agency, to hide information from Congress. We have important oversight responsibilities, and that is what is being pursued here,&#8221; Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) said during a <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fj9OAG1mvkg" target="_blank" rel="noopener">press conference</a> before the vote on Wednesday.
Garland drew the ire of Republicans for not fully complying with two subpoenas that demanded tapes of Hur&#8217;s two-day interview with Biden and of the special counsel&#8217;s interview with Biden&#8217;s ghostwriter, Mark Zwonitzer, arguing that such a request would <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/garland-under-threat-of-contempt-calls-house-gops-request-for-biden-tapes-illegitimate" target="_blank" rel="noopener">impede future investigations</a>.
Contempt of Congress proceedings <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/house-judiciary-to-begin-contempt-proceedings-against-garland-over-biden-docs-probe-audio" target="_blank" rel="noopener">have been going on</a> since last month and Biden <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/biden-asserts-executive-privilege-over-tapes-in-docs-probe" target="_blank" rel="noopener">asserting</a> executive privilege over the tapes failed to quell that endeavor. Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan (R-OH) <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/house-judiciary-to-begin-contempt-proceedings-against-garland-over-biden-docs-probe-audio" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> Republicans believe such privilege got waived when the transcripts were released.
The contempt resolution could, in theory, prompt a Department of Justice (DOJ) case that <a href="https://apnews.com/article/garland-contempt-biden-classified-documents-justice-department-bc2fb71b225ae672eb257ee2055cfa67" target="_blank" rel="noopener">could result in Garland facing</a> up to a year of prison time and as much as $100,000 in fines. However, a DOJ memo obtained by The Hill <a href="https://thehill.com/homenews/house/4718115-garland-contempt-doj-memo/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">insists</a> Garland is shielded from prosecution because of privilege.
The report from Hur&#8217;s team described Biden as a &#8220;sympathetic, well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory&#8221; whom a jury likely would not convict &#8220;of a serious felony that requires a mental state of willfulness.&#8221; Prosecutors ultimately declined to recommend charges against the president.
Hur also found that Zwonitzer deleted recordings of conversations with Biden upon learning about the documents inquiry. But the ghostwriter provided &#8220;plausible, innocent reasons&#8221; for his actions during the interview and Hur&#8217;s team said they ultimately determined the evidence would not suffice for a conviction on obstruction of justice, according to the special counsel report.
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Biden rejected Hur&#8217;s characterizations in his report, but Garland insisted that it would have been <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/garland-says-censoring-hurs-biden-docs-report-would-have-been-absurd" target="_blank" rel="noopener">&#8220;absurd&#8221;</a> for someone in his position to have edited or censored the special counsel&#8217;s explanation.
The fight over the Hur probe audio comes as Biden is running for a second term, paving the way toward another face-off against former President Donald Trump, who faces his own classified records case and was just <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/verdict-trump-found-guilty-on-all-charges-in-hush-money-case" target="_blank" rel="noopener">convicted</a> in a hush-money trial in New York. Democrats claimed the push to hold Garland in contempt of Congress was meant to <a href="https://x.com/Newsweek/status/1800943698189951319" target="_blank" rel="noopener">&#8220;placate&#8221;</a> and boost Trump.

U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland

House Votes To Hold Garland In Contempt For Withholding Biden Docs Case Audio

Mike Johnson

After President Biden declared on Thursday that he would utilize executive privilege to deny the House Judiciary and Oversight committees&#8217; request for access to audio recordings from special counsel Robert Hur’s investigation into Biden&#8217;s handling of classified documents, Attorney General Merrick Garland — whom the committees may hit with a contempt of Congress resolution for defying the request — termed the request illegitimate, adding it would “harm their ability in the future to successfully pursue sensitive investigations.”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Attorney General Garland defends President Biden’s decision to assert executive privilege over the audio of his Hur interview, saying it’s not a legitimate request and would “harm their ability in the future to successfully pursue sensitive investigations.”
&mdash; Kaitlan Collins (@kaitlancollins) <a href="https://twitter.com/kaitlancollins/status/1791097216334954670?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 16, 2024</a></blockquote>
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“It is the longstanding position of the executive branch held by administrations of both parties that an official who asserts the President’s claim of executive privilege cannot be prosecuted for criminal contempt of Congress,” Assistant Attorney General Carlos Uriarte <a href="https://punchbowl.news/doj-executive-privilege/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">wrote in a letter</a>.
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Hur interviewed Biden in October 2023, then released his report in February 2024. The House Judiciary and Oversight committees <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/james-comer-jim-jordan-subpoena-justice-department-biden-special-counsel/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">subpoenaed</a> the Justice Department for the audio recording, among other materials from Hur’s investigation. On February 27, Rep. James Comer, Chairman of the Oversight Committee, and Rep. Jim Jordan, Chairman of the Judiciary Committee, <a href="https://judiciary.house.gov/sites/evo-subsites/republicans-judiciary.house.gov/files/evo-media-document/2024-02-27%20JDJ%20to%20DOJ%20re%20subpoena.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">wrote</a> Garland:
<blockquote>
On February 12, 2024, the Committee on the Judiciary (“Judiciary Committee”), along with the Committee on Oversight and Accountability (“Oversight Committee”) and the Committee on Ways and Means, wrote you requesting a narrow and specific set of material in the possession of the Department of Justice relating to Special Counsel Robert K. Hur’s investigation of President Joe Biden’s “willful” mishandling of classified information. On February 16, the Department responded, failing to produce any of the requested material and stating instead that it was “working to gather and process” responsive documents.3 The Department, however, offered no timeframe by which it expected to make any productions or, indeed, any commitment that it would produce all of the material requested. &#8230;
In its February 16 letter, the Department stated that it was reviewing responsive materials for “classification” and “confidentiality interests.” The Department provided no timeline by which its review would be complete or a commitment that it would produce all responsive material following the review. Additionally, the Judiciary and Oversight Committees believe that the information and documents requested are primarily unclassified. To the extent that the subpoenas compel the production of classified material, the Department may produce those materials under separate cover. Accordingly, considering the seriousness of this matter, please find the attached subpoena for the requested materials.
</blockquote>
Daniel Chaitin contributed to this article.
Related: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/biden-asserts-executive-privilege-over-tapes-in-docs-probe">Biden Asserts Executive Privilege Over Tapes In Docs Probe</a>

Garland, Under Threat of Contempt, Calls House GOP’s Request for Biden Tapes Illegitimate

House Oversight Committee

tapes

President <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/joe-biden" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Joe Biden</a> has asserted executive privilege over audio recordings from special counsel <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/robert-hur" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Robert Hur</a>&#8216;s investigation into Biden&#8217;s handling of classified documents that further raised questions about the commander-in-chief&#8217;s mental acuity as he runs for a second term.
The decision was conveyed to House leaders on Thursday in the hours before a pair of GOP-led committees were expected to move forward with contempt of Congress proceedings against Attorney General <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/merrick-garland" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Merrick Garland</a> for refusing to fully comply with subpoenas from February that demanded tapes of Hur&#8217;s two-day interview with Biden and of the special counsel&#8217;s interview with Biden&#8217;s ghostwriter, Mark Zwonitzer.
&#8220;It is the longstanding position of the executive branch held by administrations of both parties that an official who asserts the President’s claim of executive privilege cannot be prosecuted for criminal contempt of Congress,&#8221; Assistant Attorney General Carlos Uriarte <a href="https://punchbowl.news/doj-executive-privilege/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">wrote in a letter</a>.
House Oversight Chairman <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/james-comer" target="_blank" rel="noopener">James Comer</a> (R-KY) and Judiciary Chairman <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/jim-jordan" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Jim Jordan</a> (R-OH) received the letter ahead of their panels&#8217; scheduled meetings on Thursday to initiate contempt of Congress proceedings against Garland over the audio. Neither one backed down on their plans to press ahead with contempt. The Judiciary Committee, which released a <a href="https://judiciary.house.gov/sites/evo-subsites/republicans-judiciary.house.gov/files/evo-media-document/Garland%20Contempt%20Report%20re%20Hur%20Report%20Materials_ANS.pdf">report</a> that said  the sought-after materials &#8220;are necessary to determine whether sufficient grounds exist to draft&#8221; articles of impeachment against Biden, began debate on contempt in the morning as planned.
Comer released a statement that said the &#8220;Hail Mary from the White House changes nothing for our committee&#8221; and declared that his panel would mark up a resolution and report recommending to the full House that Garland be held in contempt of Congress for defying a lawful subpoena.
&#8220;It’s a five-alarm fire at the White House. Clearly President Biden and his advisors fear releasing the audio recordings of his interview because it will again reaffirm to the American people that President Biden’s mental state is in decline,&#8221; Comer said. &#8220;The House Oversight Committee requires these recordings as part of our investigation of President Biden’s mishandling of classified documents. The White House is asserting executive privilege over the recordings, but it has already waived privilege by releasing the transcript of the interview.&#8221;
Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD), the top Democrat on the Oversight Committee, said in a statement <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2024/05/16/biden-hur-privilege-merrick-garland-contempt-impeachment/?utm_campaign=wp_main&amp;utm_medium=social&amp;utm_source=twitter" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported by The Washington Post</a> that Republicans are “trying to blame Attorney General Merrick Garland for their own protracted comedy of errors,&#8221; adding, &#8220;it’s delightfully absurd to suggest that listening to the President’s words instead of just reading them will suddenly reveal&#8221; an impeachable crime.
In his letter, Uriarte stressed the committees &#8220;ought not proceed with contempt and should instead avoid unnecessary and unwarranted conflict&#8221; as Biden had &#8220;asserted executive privilege over the requested audio recordings and is making a protective assertion of privilege over any remaining materials responsive to the subpoenas that have not already been produced.&#8221;
His letter also said, &#8220;We have repeatedly made clear that disclosure of the subpoenaed audio recordings would damage future law enforcement efforts and that the Committee’s continued demands raise serious separation of powers concerns.&#8221; Uriarte additionally noted &#8220;substantial efforts&#8221; to accommodate the demands from Comer and Jordan, including providing transcripts of the interviews and correspondence regarding Hur&#8217;s report.
The correspondence from Uriarte included a letter from Garland to Biden contending that the audio recordings from the interviews &#8220;fall within the scope of executive privilege.&#8221; He raised concerns about how disclosure of the materials could harm future investigations that Edward Siskel, counsel to the president, cited in a <a href="https://www.politico.com/f/?id=0000018f-8149-d166-a5af-df5b358d0001" target="_blank" rel="noopener">separate letter</a> to House Republicans.
&#8220;The absence of a legitimate need for the audio recordings lays bare your likely goal — to chop them up, distort them, and use them for partisan political purposes,” Siskel wrote. &#8220;Demanding such sensitive and constitutionally-protected law enforcement materials from the Executive Branch because you want to manipulate them for potential political gain is inappropriate.&#8221;
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The report from special counsel Hur&#8217;s team was released in February after roughly a year of investigation. It criticized Biden&#8217;s retention of classified records while out of office, describing Biden as a &#8220;sympathetic, well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory&#8221; whom a jury likely would not convict &#8220;of a serious felony that requires a mental state of willfulness.&#8221; Prosecutors ultimately declined to recommend charges against the president.
Hur also found that Zwonitzer deleted recordings of conversations he had with Biden upon learning about the documents inquiry. But the ghostwriter provided &#8220;plausible, innocent reasons&#8221; for his actions during the interview and Hur&#8217;s team said they ultimately determined the evidence would not suffice for a conviction on obstruction of justice, according to the special counsel report.
Biden and the White House have pushed back against Hur&#8217;s characterizations in his report, but Garland insisted that it would have been <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/garland-says-censoring-hurs-biden-docs-report-would-have-been-absurd" target="_blank" rel="noopener">&#8220;absurd&#8221;</a> for someone in his position to have edited or censored the special counsel&#8217;s explanation.
The fight over audio from Hur&#8217;s classified documents probe comes as Biden is running for a second term paving the way toward another November face-off against former President Donald Trump, who is trying to fend off charges in multiple criminal cases — including one related to his own handling of classified records.
Trump campaign spokesman Steven Cheung said in a statement on Thursday, &#8220;Crooked Joe Biden and his feeble administration have irretrievably politicized the key constitutional tenet of executive privilege, denying it to their political opponents while aggressively trying to use it to run political cover for Crooked Joe.&#8221;

President Biden Meets With Joint Chiefs And Combatant Commanders

Biden Asserts Executive Privilege Over Tapes In Docs Probe

James Comer

Jim Jordan

The House Judiciary Committee is poised to initiate contempt of Congress proceedings against Attorney General <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/merrick-garland" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Merrick Garland</a> in a clash over recordings from special counsel Robert Hur&#8217;s investigation into President <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/joe-biden" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Joe Biden</a>&#8216;s handling of classified documents.
With no apparent breakthrough in negotiations between House Republicans and the Department of Justice (DOJ) for lawmakers to get the audio files, a source confirmed to The Daily Wire that a markup is being planned for May 16, which is Thursday of next week.
House Oversight Chairman <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/james-comer" target="_blank" rel="noopener">James Comer</a> (R-KY) and Judiciary Chairman <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/jim-jordan" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Jim Jordan</a> (R-OH) <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/house-republicans-give-ag-merrick-garland-one-more-chance-to-deliver-audio-from-biden-docs-probe" target="_blank" rel="noopener">sent a letter</a> to Garland a few weeks ago, saying they were giving him 10 more days to fully comply with their February subpoenas or face contempt of Congress proceedings.
&#8220;Your response to the subpoenas remains inadequate, suggesting that you are withholding records for partisan purposes and to avoid political embarrassment for President Biden,&#8221; the pair wrote, according to a <a href="https://dailycaller.com/2024/04/16/jim-jordan-james-comer-robert-hur-transcript-joe-biden/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">copy of the April 15 letter obtained</a> by The Daily Caller.
The lawmakers warned they would have &#8220;no choice but to invoke contempt of Congress proceedings&#8221; unless they were given the audio recordings of Hur&#8217;s interview with Biden and of the special counsel&#8217;s interview with Biden&#8217;s ghostwriter, Mark Zwonitzer.
&#8220;To avoid this, the Committees expect you to produce all responsive materials no later than 12:00 p.m. on April 25, 2024,&#8221; Comer and Jordan added.
The two chairmen had previously set an April 8 deadline, warning their committees would &#8220;consider taking further action, such as the invocation of contempt of Congress proceedings&#8221; without full compliance.
Assistant Attorney General Carlos Uriarte <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/garland-risks-contempt-of-congress-as-doj-spurns-house-gop-demand-for-biden-audio" target="_blank" rel="noopener">sent</a> a letter to the lawmakers on April 8, saying a transcript for the two-day interview with Biden already provided to them should be sufficient. A transcript of Hur&#8217;s interview with Zwonitzer was also given.
The DOJ is &#8220;concerned&#8221; about the demands &#8220;that is cumulative of information we already gave you&#8221; and they indicate lawmakers want it for &#8220;political purposes&#8221; rather than &#8220;legitimate oversight or investigatory functions,&#8221; Uriarte said.
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Hur&#8217;s report, which was released in February, criticized Biden&#8217;s retention of classified records while out of office, yet the prosecutor declined to recommend charges.
The report described Biden as a &#8220;sympathetic, well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory&#8221; whom a jury likely would not convict &#8220;of a serious felony that requires a mental state of willfulness.&#8221;
Hur also found that Zwonitzer deleted recordings of conversations he had with Biden upon learning about the documents inquiry.
However, the ghostwriter provided &#8220;plausible, innocent reasons&#8221; for his actions during the interview and Hur said he ultimately determined the evidence would not suffice for a conviction on obstruction of justice.
Biden and the White House have pushed back against Hur&#8217;s characterizations in his report, but Garland insisted that it would have been <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/garland-says-censoring-hurs-biden-docs-report-would-have-been-absurd" target="_blank" rel="noopener">&#8220;absurd&#8221;</a> for someone in his position to have edited or censored the special counsel&#8217;s explanation.
During testimony to Congress in April, Garland <a href="https://twitter.com/cspan/status/1780261901768831242" target="_blank" rel="noopener">acknowledged</a> his agency sent correspondence &#8220;explaining our position with respect to the recordings&#8221; and noted the &#8220;longstanding practice&#8221; of keeping witness records confidential to not &#8220;chill&#8221; future investigations.

House Judiciary To Begin Contempt Proceedings Against Garland Over Biden Docs Probe Audio

The <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/department-of-justice" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Department of Justice</a> (DOJ) again chose to spurn a demand by <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/house-republicans" target="_blank" rel="noopener">House Republicans</a> to hand over audio recordings from special counsel Robert Hur&#8217;s investigation into President <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/joe-biden" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Joe Biden</a>&#8216;s handling of classified documents.
Assistant Attorney General Carlos Uriarte conveyed the refusal in a new <a href="https://www.politico.com/f/?id=0000018f-1657-d78f-afaf-3fdffa030000" target="_blank" rel="noopener">letter</a> sent to House Oversight Chairman <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/james-comer" target="_blank" rel="noopener">James Comer</a> (R-KY) and Judiciary Chairman <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/jim-jordan" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Jim Jordan</a> (R-OH) on Thursday, which was the latest deadline the congressional leaders had set for the subpoenaed materials.
&#8220;Despite our many requests, the Committees have not articulated a legitimate congressional need to obtain audio recordings from Mr. Hur’s investigation, let alone one that outweighs the Department’s strong interest in protecting the confidentiality of law enforcement files,&#8221; Uriarte wrote.
Comer and Jordan have <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/house-republicans-give-ag-merrick-garland-one-more-chance-to-deliver-audio-from-biden-docs-probe" target="_blank" rel="noopener">threatened</a> to begin contempt of Congress proceedings against Attorney General <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/merrick-garland" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Merrick Garland</a> if the DOJ continued to rebuff their push for the audio recordings of Hur&#8217;s interview with Biden and of the special counsel&#8217;s interview with Biden&#8217;s ghostwriter, Mark Zwonitzer.
“Your response to the subpoenas remains inadequate, suggesting that you are withholding records for partisan purposes and to avoid political embarrassment for President Biden,” they <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/house-republicans-give-ag-merrick-garland-one-more-chance-to-deliver-audio-from-biden-docs-probe" target="_blank" rel="noopener">wrote</a> in a mid-April letter offering Garland one more chance to comply.
As the chairmen have already been given transcripts of the interviews and other records, Uriarte wrote in his newest letter that it &#8220;seems that the more information you receive, the less satisfied you are, and the less justification you have for contempt, the more you rush towards it.&#8221;
Hur&#8217;s report, which was released in February, criticized Biden&#8217;s retention of classified records while out of office, yet the prosecutor declined to recommend charges.
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The report described Biden as a &#8220;sympathetic, well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory&#8221; whom a jury likely would not convict &#8220;of a serious felony that requires a mental state of willfulness.&#8221;
Hur also found that Zwonitzer deleted recordings of conversations he had with Biden upon learning about the documents inquiry.
However, the ghostwriter provided &#8220;plausible, innocent reasons&#8221; for his actions during the interview and Hur said he ultimately determined the evidence would not suffice for a conviction on obstruction of justice.
Biden and the White House have pushed back against Hur&#8217;s characterizations in his report, but Garland insisted that it would have been <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/garland-says-censoring-hurs-biden-docs-report-would-have-been-absurd" target="_blank" rel="noopener">&#8220;absurd&#8221;</a> for someone in his position to have edited or censored the special counsel&#8217;s explanation.
During testimony earlier this month, Garland <a href="https://twitter.com/cspan/status/1780261901768831242" target="_blank" rel="noopener">acknowledged</a> his agency sent correspondence &#8220;explaining our position with respect to the recordings&#8221; and noted the &#8220;longstanding practice&#8221; of keeping witness records confidential to not &#8220;chill&#8221; future investigations.

Special Counsel Robert Hur Testifies On Biden’s Classified Documents Investigation

DOJ Again Rebuffs House GOP Over Audio From Biden Docs Probe

Attorney General <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/merrick-garland" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Merrick Garland</a> is getting another chance to deliver audio recordings from special counsel Robert Hur&#8217;s investigation into President <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/joe-biden" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Joe Biden</a>&#8216;s handling of classified documents to <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/house-republicans" target="_blank" rel="noopener">House Republicans</a>.
House Oversight Chairman <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/james-comer" target="_blank" rel="noopener">James Comer</a> (R-KY) and Judiciary Chairman <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/jim-jordan" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Jim Jordan</a> (R-OH) sent a letter to Garland on Monday saying he had 10 more days to fully comply with their February subpoenas or face contempt of Congress proceedings.
&#8220;Your response to the subpoenas remains inadequate, suggesting that you are withholding records for partisan purposes and to avoid political embarrassment for President Biden,&#8221; the pair wrote, according to a <a href="https://dailycaller.com/2024/04/16/jim-jordan-james-comer-robert-hur-transcript-joe-biden/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">copy of the letter obtained</a> by The Daily Caller.
The lawmakers said they will have &#8220;no choice but to invoke contempt of Congress proceedings&#8221; unless they are given the audio recordings of Hur&#8217;s interview with Biden and of the special counsel&#8217;s interview with Biden&#8217;s ghostwriter, Mark Zwonitzer.
&#8220;To avoid this, the Committees expect you to produce all responsive materials no later than 12:00 p.m. on April 25, 2024,&#8221; Comer and Jordan added.
The two chairmen had previously set an April 8 deadline, warning their committees would &#8220;consider taking further action, such as the invocation of contempt of Congress proceedings&#8221; without full compliance.
Assistant Attorney General Carlos Uriarte <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/garland-risks-contempt-of-congress-as-doj-spurns-house-gop-demand-for-biden-audio" target="_blank" rel="noopener">sent</a> a letter to the lawmakers on April 8, saying a transcript for the two-day interview with Biden already provided to them should be sufficient. A transcript of Hur&#8217;s interview with Zwonitzer was also given.
The Department of Justice is &#8220;concerned&#8221; about the demands &#8220;that is cumulative of information we already gave you&#8221; and they indicate lawmakers want it for &#8220;political purposes&#8221; rather than &#8220;legitimate oversight or investigatory functions,&#8221; Uriarte said.
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Hur&#8217;s report, which was released in February, criticized Biden&#8217;s retention of classified records while out of office, yet the prosecutor declined to recommend charges.
The report described Biden as a &#8220;sympathetic, well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory&#8221; whom a jury likely would not convict &#8220;of a serious felony that requires a mental state of willfulness.&#8221;
Hur also found that Zwonitzer deleted recordings of conversations he had with Biden upon learning about the documents inquiry.
However, the ghostwriter provided &#8220;plausible, innocent reasons&#8221; for his actions during the interview and Hur said he ultimately determined the evidence would not suffice for a conviction on obstruction of justice.
Biden and the White House have pushed back against Hur&#8217;s characterizations in his report, but Garland insisted that it would have been <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/garland-says-censoring-hurs-biden-docs-report-would-have-been-absurd" target="_blank" rel="noopener">&#8220;absurd&#8221;</a> for someone in his position to have edited or censored the special counsel&#8217;s explanation.
During testimony on Tuesday, Garland <a href="https://twitter.com/cspan/status/1780261901768831242" target="_blank" rel="noopener">acknowledged</a> his agency sent correspondence &#8220;explaining our position with respect to the recordings&#8221; and noted the &#8220;longstanding practice&#8221; of keeping witness records confidential to not &#8220;chill&#8221; future investigations.

House Republicans Give AG Merrick Garland One More Chance To Deliver Audio From Biden Docs Probe

House Republicans Give AG Merrick Garland One More Chance To Deliver  Audio From Biden Docs Probe

The Department of Justice (DOJ) has chosen to rebuff <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/house-republicans" target="_blank" rel="noopener">House Republicans</a> seeking audio of special counsel Robert Hur&#8217;s interviews with President <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/joe-biden" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Joe Biden</a> for a classified documents investigation despite a threat to hold Attorney General <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/merrick-garland" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Merrick Garland</a> in contempt of Congress for defying their subpoenas.
Assistant Attorney General Carlos Uriarte wrote in a <a href="https://punchbowl.news/2024-04-08-out-jordan-comer-re-sco-hur/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">letter</a> sent to House Oversight Chairman <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/james-comer" target="_blank" rel="noopener">James Comer</a> (R-KY) and Judiciary Chairman <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/jim-jordan" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Jim Jordan</a> (R-OH) on Monday — which was the deadline the congressional leaders set for the materials — that a transcript for the two-day interview that was already provided to them should be sufficient.
&#8220;The Department is concerned that the Committees&#8217; particular focus on continuing to demand information that is cumulative of information we already gave you — what the President and Mr. Hur&#8217;s team said in the interview — indicates that the Committees&#8217; interests may not be in receiving information in service of legitimate oversight or investigatory functions, but to serve political purposes that should have no role in the treatment of law enforcement files,&#8221; Uriarte said.
Comer and Jordan <a href="https://judiciary.house.gov/sites/evo-subsites/republicans-judiciary.house.gov/files/evo-media-document/2024-03-25%20JDJ%20JC%20to%20DOJ%20re%20Hur%20subpoena%20and%20contempt.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">wrote</a> to Garland two weeks ago, saying they received redacted transcripts of Hur&#8217;s interview with Biden on March 12, just hours before the special counsel testified before the House. The chairmen again demanded audio recordings of Hur&#8217;s interview with Biden, which they had stressed as a priority, and audio recordings of the special counsel&#8217;s interview with Biden&#8217;s ghostwriter, Mark Zwonitzer, in compliance with subpoenas from February.
If Garland failed to provide the materials by April 8, the committees &#8220;will consider taking further action, such as the invocation of contempt of Congress proceedings,&#8221; they warned.
The committees have &#8220;already received the extraordinary accommodation of the transcripts, which gives you the information you say you need,&#8221; Uriarte claimed. &#8220;To go further by producing the audio files would compound the likelihood that future prosecutors will be unable to secure this level of cooperation. They might have a harder time obtaining consent to an interview at all. It is clearly not in the public interest to render such cooperation with prosecutors and investigators less likely in the future.&#8221;
Uriarte said his letter &#8220;supplements&#8221; previous responses to the panels and noted a transcript of Hur&#8217;s interview with Zwonitzer was enclosed as &#8220;further accommodation.&#8221; He argued that the information provided &#8220;does appear&#8221; to resolve the concerns raised by Comer and Jordan related to legislative oversight of the DOJ and the impeachment inquiry against Biden.
In a sign that the clash over materials from Hur&#8217;s investigation into Biden&#8217;s handling of classified records is not yet over, Comer released a statement that said Oversight and Judiciary Committees will &#8220;soon&#8221; respond to DOJ while seeking &#8220;needed&#8221; information.
&#8220;The Biden Administration does not get to determine what Congress needs and does not need for its oversight of the executive branch,&#8221; Comer <a href="https://twitter.com/RepJamesComer/status/1777448098308001999" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a>. &#8220;The American people deserve to hear the actual audio of President Biden’s answers to Special Counsel Hur.&#8221;
Seeming to anticipate an escalation, Uriarte pleaded how it is &#8220;not too late for the Committees to choose a different path, to take on offramp towards the &#8216;spirit of dynamic compromise&#8217; that the Constitution requires of us both.&#8221;
Hur&#8217;s report, which was released in February, criticized Biden&#8217;s retention of classified records while out of office, yet the prosecutor declined to recommend charges. The report described Biden as a &#8220;sympathetic, well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory&#8221; whom a jury likely would not convict &#8220;of a serious felony that requires a mental state of willfulness.&#8221;
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The special counsel also found that Zwonitzer deleted recordings of conversations he had with Biden upon learning about the documents inquiry, but the ghostwriter provided &#8220;plausible, innocent reasons&#8221; for his actions and other materials. Ultimately, Hur said he determined the evidence would not suffice for a conviction on obstruction of justice.
Biden and the White House have pushed back against Hur&#8217;s characterizations in his report, but Garland insisted that it would have been <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/garland-says-censoring-hurs-biden-docs-report-would-have-been-absurd" target="_blank" rel="noopener">&#8220;absurd&#8221;</a> for someone in his position to have edited or censored the special counsel&#8217;s explanation.

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