In an ongoing squabble on Capitol Hill (when isn't there an ongoing squabble on Capitol Hill?) the Department of Justice (DOJ) on Thursday again refused to turn over the recording of Special Counsel Robert Hur's interview with President Biden to the House Judiciary Committee. House Judiciary Chair Jim Jordan (R-OH) and House Republicans continue to threaten contempt charges against Attorney General Merrick Garland over the investigation:
The letter from the DOJ on Thursday argues it has complied with the GOP's oversight of the Hur investigation.
- ""It 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," the letter to Jordan and House Oversight Committee Chair James Comer (R-Ky.) read.
House Republicans are actively weighing whether to move forward with contempt charges against Garland, a source familiar with the conversations told Axios.
- A spokesperson for Jordan declined to comment.
DOJ Refuses to Produce Audio of Biden Interview With Special Counsel
Looks Like Biden Lied to the Special Counsel About His Political Origin Story
The statement from the DOJ sounds an awful lot like they are throwing down a gauntlet. But a look at the details already known lends some idea as to why the DOJ, which as an Executive Branch function is under the control of the Biden administration, may be reluctant to release the full interview (as the above-linked Axios piece reports):
Between the lines: As the GOP's impeachment inquiry into Biden has floundered, Republicans have honed in on Hur's investigation into the president's handling of classified documents.
- Hur concluded that Biden "willfully retained and disclosed classified materials after his vice presidency when he was a private citizen" but said he was not recommending prosecution.
- Hur wrote that Biden would portray himself in a trial as a "sympathetic, well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory."
Zoom in: Republicans have focused on Hur's interview of Biden.
- The transcript showed the president had several mental lapses during the interview, including mixing up countries and the year significant events occurred, including the years his son Beau died and Donald Trump was elected, per the transcript.
The full recording, if it shows a confused, befuddled Biden - or even, as the Special Counsel phrased it, a "sympathetic, well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory" - that could damage the President's re-election bid.
The House Judiciary Committee would doubtlessly be interested to know exactly what the President's "several mental lapses" looked like; a transcript does not, of course, give the full picture of the "elderly man with a poor memory," but recent appearances by the President certainly present some concern. In recent days, the President has been a veritable gaffe machine, claiming that he couldn't be trusted over former President Trump, urging people to "choose freedom over democracy," then suffered a "good people on both sides" moment when speaking of the Israel-Hamas war.
And then there's this: "Four more years - pause."
The House GOP will almost certainly continue to pursue the release of the interview recording. The White House has, since the release of the transcript, continually pronounced the President as vindicated in the classified documents issue, even as the Special Counsel observes that he "willfully retained and disclosed classified materials after his vice presidency when he was a private citizen," and did not recommend prosecution due to the President's age. The release of the full recording may be embarrassing - or it may be another revelation that the President is no longer fit for office.