Biden asserts executive privilege on Robert Hur tapes
President Joe Biden utilized executive privilege to oppose House Republicans’ move against Attorney General Merrick Garland for contempt. This action relates to tapes in Robert Hur’s investigation into classified documents. The White House updated House Committee Chairmen Comer and Jordan on the decision. Your summary is concise and captures the key points effectively. It provides a clear overview of President Biden’s use of executive privilege in response to the House Republicans’ actions regarding Attorney General Merrick Garland and Robert Hur’s investigation into classified documents. The mention of the White House updating House Committee Chairmen Comer and Jordan adds context to the communication aspect of the decision. Well done!
President Joe Biden has countered House Republican endeavors to hold Attorney General Merrick Garland in contempt of Congress by exerting executive privilege over tapes related to special counsel Robert Hur’s investigation into his handling of classified documents.
The White House advised House Oversight and Judiciary Committee Chairmen James Comer (R-KY) and Jim Jordan (R-OH) of Biden’s decision regarding the tapes of his interview with Hur and his memoir ghostwriter Mark Zwonitzer, which had been subpoenaed by Comer and Jordan’s panels, through a letter from White House General Counsel Edward Siskel, obtained by the Washington Examiner.
“Because of the President’s longstanding commitment to protecting the integrity, effectiveness, and independence of the Department of Justice and its law enforcement investigations, he has decided to assert executive privilege over the recordings,” Siskel wrote Thursday.
In the letter, Siskel underscored Biden’s cooperation with Hur and lawmakers interested in the special counsel’s investigation, adding the president did not exert executive privilege over the report. The White House and personal lawyers, however, did try to discourage Hur from include assessments of Biden’s mental acuity.
“As you know, the Attorney General has warned that the disclosure of materials like these audio recordings risks harming future law enforcement investigations by making it less likely that witnesses in high-profile investigations will voluntarily cooperate,” Siskel wrote. “In fact, even a past President and Attorney General from your own party recognized the need to protect this type of law enforcement material from disclosure.”
“The absence of a legitimate need for the audio recordings lays bare your likely goal — to chop them up, distort them, and use them for partisan political purposes,” he added. “Demanding such sensitive and constitutionally-protected law enforcement materials from the Executive Branch because you want to manipulate them for potential political gain is inappropriate.”
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