Garland Risks Contempt of Congress, DOJ Refuses to Produce Audio of Biden Interview With Special Counsel

Following Special Counsel Hur's report on President Joe Biden's handling of classified documents in February, in which he recommended against pursuing charges and instead portrayed Biden as an "elderly man with a poor memory," House Republicans issued subpoenas for the documents from Hur's investigation. The subpoenas included requests for President Biden's recorded interview with Hur.

The Department of Justice has twice refused to surrender the audio recordings, potentially subjecting Attorney General Merrick Garland to contempt of Congress charges.

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On February 27, the House Oversight, Ways and Means, and Judiciary Committees issued subpoenas to the DOJ for Hur's interview records, including transcripts, notes, video, and audio files. These requests were made "to determine if they were used to help the Bidens’ influence-peddling schemes."

On the subpoenas' March 7 deadline, the DOJ provided insufficient production to the Committees, including only letters between Biden's legal counsel and the Department and an offer to review two classified documents in camera.

On March 12, 2024, just over two hours before Hur's scheduled testimony before the House Judiciary Committee, the DOJ provided two redacted transcripts of his interviews with President Biden to the Committees, omitting the audio recordings that were "specifically prioritized." News reports indicated that multiple media outlets had access to and reviewed the transcripts before they were officially provided to the Committees, leading to concerns that either the DOJ or the White House may have shared them with the media prematurely, potentially for political purposes, or provided misleading information regarding the review completion timeline to the Committees.

In response to the DOJ's insufficient fulfillment of the subpoenas, House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer (R-KY) and House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan (R-OH) set Monday, April 8 as the deadline for Garland to comply, threatening contempt charges.

The Justice Department responded by Monday's deadline but informed lawmakers that it would not be handing over the audio files. The DOJ did agree to provide additional materials, including a transcript of an interview with Mark Zwonitzer, Biden's ghostwriter.

Assistant Attorney General Carlos Uriarte wrote a letter to Jordan and Comer explaining that the DOJ was defying the subpoena due to concerns about the Committees' alleged political motivations.

The letter said:

The Department is concerned that the Committees' particular focus on continuing to demand information that is cumulative of information we already gave you — what the President and Mr. Hur's team said in the interview indicates that the Committees' interests may not be in receiving information in service of legitimate oversight or investigatory functions, but to serve political purposes that should have no role in the treatment of law enforcement files.

Last month, Comer and Jordan warned Garland that if he did not turn over the audio recordings, the "committees will consider taking further action, such as the invocation of contempt of Congress proceedings," and said, "The February 27 subpoenas create a legal obligation on you to produce this material."