House Republicans have been requesting more information on Special Counsel Robert Hur's investigation into President Joe Biden. The report, which was released in February, certainly did not exonerate the president, but found that he was considered too old to charge for his mishandling of classified documents. Late last month, as Katie covered, House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer (R-KY) and House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan (R-OH) threatened to hold Attorney General Merrick Garland in contempt for failure to comply with a request to provide audio recordings of the interview. In response, the Biden Department of Justice (DOJ) had the nerve to call on House Republicans to "avoid conflict" in the face of such threatened action.
The letter in question came from Assistant Attorney General Carlos Uriarte, on the date of the April 8 deadline. Uriarte insisted that they had "met or exceeded the Committees' stated informational needs." The letter even went on to claim that the department's "efforts at cooperation prove that we are, and continue to be, willing to do our part to show the American people that the officials who serve them can work together productively in the public interest while avoiding unnecessary conflict."
Such a line is particularly rich coming from a DOJ that has been weaponized and politicized to go after Biden's political opponents, such as former and potentially future President Donald Trump. But, ordinary Americans have been targeted as well, including peaceful pro-life protesters and concerned parents at school board meetings.
The letter went on to mention similar language. "We urge the Committees to avoid conflict rather than seek it," Uriarte wrote in the next paragraph. "It is not too late for the Committees to choose a different path, to take an offramp towards the 'spirit of dynamic compromise' that the Constitution requires of us both."
Uriarte also sung the praises of the DOJ for how he says it has already supposedly complied.
In a disdainful manner he also wrote, with original emphasis:
Although the Committees have pointed out, correctly, that the Constitution implicitly grants Congress "broad" and "indispensable" authority to seek information when motivated by a legitimate investigative purpose, neither branch has any constitutionally-based authority to seek conflict for conflict's sake. To the contrary, the Constitution "contemplates that practice will integrate the dispersed powers" between the branches "into a workable government," and mandates that we both seek "optimal accommodation" of each other's needs. The Department is concerned that the Committees' particular focus on continuing to demand information that is cumulative of information we already gave you--what the President and Mr. Hur's team said in the interview--indicates that the Committees' interests may not be in receiving information in service of legitimate oversight or investigatory functions, but to serve political purposes that should should have no role in the treatment of law enforcement files. The Department notes the contrast between the Committees' escalatory threats of contempt over audio files and the Committees' seemingly low need for them, at least for the purposes that would traditionally support a congressional subpoena to the Executive Branch. This contrast is particularly striking in light of information that we have already produced to you.
The AP's Farnoush Amiri shared a copy of the letter to her X account.
"The pushback from the department and the seeming unwillingness to provide the audio could trigger a legal battle between the White House and the GOP chairmen leading the contempt effort on Capitol Hill, potentially setting up a scenario where Biden would have to exert executive privilege to halt the release of the audio recording to Congress," she also addressed in her write-up.
Comer released a statement on Monday, indicating it doesn't look like the Committees will be backing down. He also teased that a response to the DOJ will be coming "soon."
"The Biden Administration does not get to determine what Congress needs and does not need for its oversight of the executive branch. It’s curious the Biden Administration is refusing to release the audio of President Biden’s interview with the Special Counsel after releasing the transcript," Comer said. "Why shouldn't the American people be able to hear the actual audio of his answers? The American people demand transparency from their leaders, not obstruction. The Oversight Committee will continue to work with the Judiciary Committee to obtain the information needed for our investigation of President Biden’s willful retention of classified documents. We will respond to the Justice Department soon."