Garland, facing contempt threat, dismisses GOP’s Biden tapes request as invalid
President Biden used executive privilege to block the House committees from accessing recordings of special counsel Robert Hur’s investigation. Attorney General Garland faces contempt charges for defying the request, calling it illegitimate and potentially harmful to future investigations. The executive branch’s position states that invoking executive privilege protects officials from criminal contempt charges.
After President Biden declared on Thursday that he would utilize executive privilege to deny the House Judiciary and Oversight committees’ request for access to audio recordings from special counsel Robert Hur’s investigation into Biden’s handling of classified documents, Attorney General Merrick Garland — whom the committees may hit with a contempt of Congress resolution for defying the request — termed the request illegitimate, adding it would “harm their ability in the future to successfully pursue sensitive investigations.”
Attorney General Garland defends President Biden’s decision to assert executive privilege over the audio of his Hur interview, saying it’s not a legitimate request and would “harm their ability in the future to successfully pursue sensitive investigations.”
— Kaitlan Collins (@kaitlancollins) May 16, 2024
“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 prosecuted for criminal contempt of Congress,” Assistant Attorney General Carlos Uriarte wrote in a letter.
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Hur interviewed Biden in October 2023, then released his report in February 2024. The House Judiciary and Oversight committees subpoenaed the Justice Department for the audio recording, among other materials from Hur’s investigation. On February 27, Rep. James Comer, Chairman of the Oversight Committee, and Rep. Jim Jordan, Chairman of the Judiciary Committee, wrote Garland:
On February 12, 2024, the Committee on the Judiciary (“Judiciary Committee”), along with the Committee on Oversight and Accountability (“Oversight Committee”) and the Committee on Ways and Means, wrote you requesting a narrow and specific set of material in the possession of the Department of Justice relating to Special Counsel Robert K. Hur’s investigation of President Joe Biden’s “willful” mishandling of classified information. On February 16, the Department responded, failing to produce any of the requested material and stating instead that it was “working to gather and process” responsive documents.3 The Department, however, offered no timeframe by which it expected to make any productions or, indeed, any commitment that it would produce all of the material requested. …
In its February 16 letter, the Department stated that it was reviewing responsive materials for “classification” and “confidentiality interests.” The Department provided no timeline by which its review would be complete or a commitment that it would produce all responsive material following the review. Additionally, the Judiciary and Oversight Committees believe that the information and documents requested are primarily unclassified. To the extent that the subpoenas compel the production of classified material, the Department may produce those materials under separate cover. Accordingly, considering the seriousness of this matter, please find the attached subpoena for the requested materials.
Daniel Chaitin contributed to this article.
Related: Biden Asserts Executive Privilege Over Tapes In Docs Probe
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