The Justice Department said Thursday it will not produce subpoenaed audio recordings of former Special Counsel Robert Hur’s interview with President Biden to House Republicans, maintaining that its “cooperation” with the congressional investigation has been “extraordinary.”
House Oversight Committee Chair James Comer, R-Ky., and House Judiciary Committee Chair Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, had threatened to hold Garland in contempt of Congress over the Justice Department’s failure to produce the audio recordings.
But the Justice Department on Thursday reminded that it has produced a transcript of Biden’s interview with the special counsel.
“If the Committees’ goal is to receive information from the Department in furtherance of your investigations, that goal has been more than met,” Assistant Attorney General Carlos Uriarte wrote. “Our cooperation has been extraordinary.”
“The Committees have not responded in kind,” he continued. “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.”
Uriarte added: “Lacking a justification for complaint—never mind contempt—in the actual record, the Committees’ threats deepen our concern that you are seeking to create a false narrative of obstruction that weakens, rather than strengthens, the American people’s confidence in our government and the rule of law.”
“The Department will not shirk from our duty to protect the public’s interest in the integrity of law enforcement work. We hope you find this information helpful. Please do not hesitate to contact this office if we may provide additional assistance regarding this or any other matter,” he wrote.
Hur, who released his report to the public in February after months of investigation, did not recommend criminal charges against Biden for mishandling and retaining classified documents — and stated that he would not bring charges against Biden even if he were not in the Oval Office.
Those records included classified documents about military and foreign policy in Afghanistan and other countries, among other records related to national security and foreign policy, which Hur said implicated “sensitive intelligence sources and methods.”
Hur, in his report, described Biden as a “sympathetic, well-meaning elderly man with a poor memory” — a description that has raised significant concerns for Biden’s 2024 re-election campaign.
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