Staff Reports
The Department of Justice is once again under scrutiny, this time for refusing to release audio recordings of former special counsel Robert Hur’s interview with President Joe Biden. According to court documents filed Thursday evening, the DOJ argues there is “no basis” under the Freedom of Information Act to make these recordings public. Despite releasing the transcript of Biden’s interview in March, the DOJ maintains that the actual tapes should remain confidential.
This stance has sparked a bipartisan pushback. Conservative watchdog groups Judicial Watch and the Heritage Foundation, along with a media coalition led by CNN, which includes the Associated Press, CBS, and Reuters, are all advocating for the release of the recordings. This unusual alliance highlights the broad interest in the case.
Washington Examiner: DOJ rejects outside groups’ efforts to FOIA Hur tapes https://t.co/UexCBhUncz
— Ian Hansen 🇺🇸🇺🇸 (@IanHansenFeed) July 19, 2024
Attorney General Merrick Garland has been criticized for avoiding the release of these tapes, especially after Hur decided not to prosecute Biden for mishandling classified materials, attributing it to Biden's poor memory. Congress, dissatisfied with this explanation, has taken the rare step of voting to hold Garland in contempt, signaling their frustration with the DOJ’s lack of transparency.
Judicial Watch’s Tom Fitton has accused the DOJ of attempting to “blow up FOIA to protect Joe Biden on a campaign issue.” Given Biden’s low approval ratings, the refusal to release the tapes appears to many as an effort to manage potential political damage. Questions about Biden’s fitness for reelection are growing, and the content of these recordings could further impact his political future.
In response to increasing pressure, the White House asserted executive privilege over the tapes in mid-May. The DOJ has echoed this stance, claiming that releasing the audio would cause “unwarranted privacy harms” and “interfere with witness cooperation” in ongoing investigations. Judge Timothy Kelly has ordered the plaintiffs to respond by August 1st, setting the stage for a significant legal showdown in the ongoing debate over governmental transparency.
