DOJ Again Declines To Provide Recordings to Lawmakers

(RepublicanView.org) – Republican lawmakers are fuming after the Department of Justice yet again denied their request for the audio files between President Joe Biden and special counsel Robert Hur for an impeachment inquiry.

Back in March, Representative Jim Jordan (R-OH), chair of the House Judiciary Committee, and other GOP representatives discussed the possibility of contempt proceedings against Attorney General Merrick Garland if their request was refused. The audio files contain the complete unredacted audio of the interview that lead Hur to classify Biden as a “well-meaning elderly man with a poor memory.”

Hur was investigating whether Biden illegally stored classified documents carelessly at his private home. The documents included information about wars and national security. Investigators found classified documents stored in unsealed degraded cardboard boxes in his garage. However, Hur recommended that no charges be brought against the president, concluding that a jury would likely sympathize with Biden and his age.

Carlos Uriarte, who oversees the Justice Department’s legislative affairs, argued the DOJ has offered “extraordinary” cooperation in the investigation. In a letter to Jordan and James Comer (R-KY), the head of the House Oversight and Accountability Committee, Uriarte said that the more information they are given, the less satisfied they are. He also said Republicans lack any justification for contempt proceedings and accused them of failing to provide proper justification for needing the audio files.

Additionally, Uriarte argued that releasing the recordings would mean a bigger challenge for prosecutors hoping to conduct interviews with suspects and witnesses during future cases. They have released transcripts of the files, as well as transcripts of interviews with Mark Zwonitzer, President Biden’s ghostwriter.

However, James Comer (R-KY) and Jordan have insisted that the audio files are essential for their impeachment inquiry. They have also accused the DOJ of withholding the files for the benefit of the Biden administration and to avoid embarrassing the president.

Jordan has not yet announced whether they will follow through on their plans to hold Garland in contempt.