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According to reports, House Republicans will move forward with contempt of Congress charges against Attorney General Merrick Garland for refusing to hand over audio from Joe Biden’s interview with former special counsel Robert Hur.
The House Judiciary Committee intends to hold a “markup meeting on May 16” to debate and consider amendments to the contempt resolution before a full House vote, the New York Post reports.
House Republicans ready to hold Merrick Garland in contempt over refusal to provide audio of Biden’s interview with special counsel https://t.co/WsKkuFqNp3 pic.twitter.com/OiCOE3kjdY
— New York Post (@nypost) May 7, 2024
BREAKING NEWS: Attorney General Merrick Garland will be held in CONTEMPT of Congress for refusing to hand over audio recordings of Biden’s special counsel interview where Robert Hur concluded he’s an ‘elderly man’ with a ‘poor memory’. pic.twitter.com/6M0P0zVBfs
— Laszlo Knows
(@Laszlo99659) May 6, 2024
From the New York Post:
Garland was issued a subpoena for the audio files of Biden’s lengthy interview with Hur, as part of the former special counsel’s investigation into the president’s handling of classified White House documents, in late February by House Oversight Committee Chairman Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) and House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.).
The subpoena was issued after the top Justice Department official initially failed to comply with a request from the committees for documents related to the two-day-long interview.
A transcript of Hur’s Oct. 8 and Oct. 9 interviews with the 81-year-old president was eventually released by the DOJ, which showed Biden confused key dates during the sitdowns, including forgetting which year his son Beau died of brain cancer and the year Donald Trump was elected president.
In an 11-page letter sent to the two committees last month, Assistant Attorney General Carlos Uriarte rejected claims that the interview recordings contain information relevant to the Republican-led impeachment inquiry into Biden.
BREAKING: House Republicans plan to hold Attorney General Merrick Garland in Contempt of Congress. pic.twitter.com/05j7D9tiSA
— Ian Jaeger (@IanJaeger29) May 6, 2024
Per NBC News:
House Republicans grilled Hur for hours at a public hearing in March. Despite having access to the full transcript, the committee says it believes it needs the audio because it may shed insight into Hur’s assessment that Biden’s age and lack of memory played roles in his decision not to press charges.
Hur testified to the Judiciary Committee that while he did not have an opinion on whether or not Congress should get access to the recordings, the audio specifically contributed to his decision not to press charges.
“It is not for me to weigh into what information Congress should or should not have,” he said at the time, adding: “The audio recordings were part of the evidence, of course, that I considered in coming to my conclusions.”
The Justice Department declined to comment on the potential markup of a resolution to hold Garland in contempt.
In a May 25 letter to the House committees conducting the Biden impeachment inquiry, Assistant Attorney General Carlos Felipe Uriarte accused the committees of insufficiently explaining why the audio recording would be necessary.
“Despite our many requests, the Committees have not articulated a legitimate congressional need to obtain audio recordings from Mr. Hur’s investigation, let alone one that outweighs the Department’s strong interest in protecting the confidentiality of law enforcement files,” he wrote. “The Department will continue to cooperate reasonably and appropriately, but we will not risk the long-term integrity of our law enforcement work.”
“After a lengthy investigation into Joe Biden improperly retaining classified documents pertaining to national security, Department of Justice Special Counsel Robert Hur said he will not bring criminal charges,” 100 Percent Fed Up previously reported.
From 100 Percent Fed Up:
Attorney General Merrick Garland appointed Hur last year after Biden’s lawyers informed the federal government he was in possession of classified documents from his time as vice president.
According to the report, Biden “willfully retained and disclosed classified materials after his vice presidency when he was a private citizen.”
“He knew he kept classified information in notebooks stored in his house and he knew he was not allowed to do so,” Hur wrote.
Yet, Hur won’t bring criminal charges against Biden.
However, the special counsel’s reasons for not bringing charges won’t bode well for the White House resident.
Hur cited Biden’s advanced age and poor memory as reasons not to charge him.
“We have also considered that, at trial, Mr. Biden would likely present himself to a jury, as he did during our interview of him, as a sympathetic, well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory,” the report read.
