DOJ rebuffs House GOP’s request for Hur-Biden interview audio

The Justice Department is rebuffing House Republicans’ demands to hand over audio of former special counsel Robert Hur’s interview with President Joe Biden.

The DOJ sent a letter to Oversight Chair James Comer (R-Ky.) and Judiciary Committee Chair Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) saying it would not turn over the audio by the House GOP’s Monday deadline. Officials warned that handing over the interview audio could negatively impact future investigations.

“Even assuming the Committees did have a remaining investigative purpose behind their request for the audio files that has not been rebutted by the information produced so far — and they has not identified one — it is critical for the Department to understand why the Committees believe they have a remaining need for the information in these files,” assistant attorney general Carlos Uriarte wrote in the letter to Comer and Jordan, a copy of which was obtained by POLITICO.

They did, however, hand over the transcript of the Hur team interview with Mark Zwonitzer, Biden’s ghost writer.

House Republicans have warned they could hold Attorney General Merrick Garland in contempt of Congress if the Justice Department didn’t hand over information from Hur’s investigation into Biden’s handling of classified documents. The Justice Department previously handed over transcripts of Hur’s interview with Biden, as well as providing access to documents referenced in his report, but Republicans specifically wanted the audio of the interview.

Hur’s report said that Biden would be perceived in any court proceedings as a “sympathetic, well-meaning elderly man with a poor memory,” a description Republicans quickly latched onto.

Spokespeople for Comer and Jordan didn’t immediately respond to the Justice Department letter. Republicans doubled down on their request for audio of the interview in a letter last month, telling the Justice Department that the House GOP’s subpoena creates a “legal obligation” for the DOJ to hand it over.

Republicans requested information related to Hur’s investigation as part of their sweeping impeachment inquiry into Biden. While that probe has largely focused on the business deals of his family members, it’s also folded in his handling of classified documents.

The Justice Department, in its response on Monday, said granting access to the audio recording increases the likelihood that “future prosecutors will be unable to secure this level of cooperation” and “risks seriously chilling our ability to conduct investigations and prosecutions.”

And officials offered a broad criticism of the House GOP’s contempt threat, given that they have handed over or provided access to a swath of documents from Hur’s investigation.

“We are therefore concerned that the Committees are disappointed not because you didn’t receive information, but because you did. We urge the Committees to avoid conflict rather than seek,” Uriarte added.

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