The Department of Justice (DOJ) has prevented multiple organizations from acquiring audio recordings of President Joe Biden’s interview with former special counsel Robert Hur, as per the Washington Examiner.
According to the Washington Examiner, the DOJ turned down Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests from various groups seeking access to the Biden-Hur tapes, leading them to initiate a lawsuit on Thursday. Judicial Watch, Heritage Foundation, and a media coalition led by CNN, which includes The Associated Press, CBS, Reuters, and other companies, were part of the lawsuit. The Biden-Hur tapes stirred controversy after Hur mentioned Biden’s mental lapses during the interview in October 2023.
In February, Hur’s team discovered that Biden had mishandled classified information related to the Obama administration’s Ukraine policy during his time as vice president. Despite this, Hur chose not to pursue prosecution after interviewing Biden. Hur characterized Biden as a “sympathetic, well-meaning elderly man” with memory limitations that might prevent a jury from finding him guilty.
Attorney General Merrick Garland has kept the tapes private for several months following Biden’s use of executive privilege in May to block their release. Subsequently, in June, the House approved a resolution to hold Garland in contempt for defying a congressional subpoena.
In July, the House tried to pass a resolution for “inherent contempt,” proposing a $10,000 daily fine for Garland’s refusal to hand over the tapes. This resolution, spearheaded by Republican Rep. Anna Paulina Luna of Florida, was defeated in the House by a vote of 204-210. The Department of Justice argued that releasing the Biden-Hur tapes would violate privacy rights without providing significant public benefit, potentially hindering witness cooperation in ongoing investigations, as reported by the Washington Examiner.
“I’ve been doing this for nearly 30 years, I really haven’t seen a desperate effort like this to avoid disclosure,” Tom Fitton, president of Judicial Watch, told the Washington Examiner.
