WASHINGTON (TND) — The House Judiciary Committee voted to hold U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland in contempt of Congress after the White House blocked access to an audio recorded interview between Special Counsel Robert Hur and President Joe Biden.
"The department has a legal obligation to turn over the requested materials pursuant to the subpoena," Rep. Jim Jordan, the GOP chairman of the Judiciary Committee, said during the hearing. "Attorney General Garland's willful refusal to comply with our subpoena constitutes contempt of Congress."
The House panel voted Thursday afternoon to advance the contempt move. A similar vote is scheduled for later Thursday with the House oversight committee.
The interview which was about the handling of classified documents revealed that Biden was an "elderly man with a poor memory."
A transcript of the Hur interview showed Biden struggling to recall some dates and occasionally confusing some details — something longtime aides say he's done for years in both public and private — but otherwise showing deep recall in other areas. Biden and his aides are particularly sensitive to questions about his age. At 81, he's the oldest-ever president, and he's seeking another four-year term.
On Thursday, Biden used his executive power to deny the audio tapes of the interview from being released.
The transcript of the interview was released in February.
Speaker Mike Johnson criticized Biden saying the President is afraid for the US to hear the recording.
“The American people will not be able to hear why prosecutors felt the President of the United States was in Special Counsel Robert Hur’s words, a quote ‘elderly man with a poor memory and thus shouldn't be charged. Just think about that for a moment. President Biden is apparently afraid for the citizens of this country and everyone to hear those tapes. They obviously confirm what the special counsel has found, and would likely cause, I suppose, in his estimation, such alarm with the American people that the president is using all of his power to suppress their release," said Johnson on Thursday
The White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre responded Thursday saying, "the transcripts are already out there and they've been out there."
A reporter at Thursday's briefing pressed Jean-Pierre on why having the recording available is a problem if the transcript was already released.
"There were determinations that President has made, at the request of the Attorney General, and so we took that very seriously," said Jean-Pierre said.
Garland separately advised Biden in a letter made public Thursday that the audio falls within the scope of executive privilege, which protects a president's ability to obtain candid counsel from his advisers without fear of immediate public disclosure and to protect confidential communications relating to official responsibilities.
The attorney general told reporters that the Justice Department has gone to extraordinary lengths to provide information to the committees about special counsel Robert Hur's investigation, including a transcript of Biden's interview with Hur. But, Garland said, releasing the audio could jeopardize future sensitive and high-profile investigations. Officials have suggested handing over the tape could make future witnesses concerned about cooperating with investigators.
"There have been a series of unprecedented and frankly unfounded attacks on the Justice Department," Garland said. "This request, this effort to use contempt as a method of obtaining our sensitive law enforcement files is just most recent."
The Justice Department warned Congress that a contempt effort would create "unnecessary and unwarranted conflict," with Assistant Attorney General Carlos Uriarte saying: "It is the longstanding position of the executive branch held by administrations of both parties that an official who asserts the president's claim of executive privilege cannot be held in contempt of Congress.
Editor's Note: The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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