The Justice Department has opted not to provide House Republicans with subpoenaed audio recordings of former special counsel Robert Hur's interview with Joe Biden, leaving AG Merrick Garland vulnerable to potential contempt of Congress proceedings.
House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., and House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, have issued threats to hold Attorney General Merrick Garland in contempt of Congress due to the Justice Department's failure to produce the records. Last month, they established Monday, April 8, as the deadline for Garland to comply.
Although the Justice Department met the GOP deadline to respond, it informed lawmakers that it would not be providing the audio files.
The Justice Department did consent to provide some alternative materials, including a transcript of an interview with Mark Zwonitzer, who served as Biden's ghostwriter.
Comer and Jordan subpoenaed Mark Zwonitzer last month, requiring him to submit all documents and communications pertaining to his ghostwriting work on Biden's memoirs “Promise Me, Dad” and “Promises to Keep,” which includes emails, call logs, and other relevant materials involving Biden or his staff.
The subpoena also mandates Zwonitzer to provide all contracts and agreements linked to his work, as well as audio recordings and transcripts of interviews and conversations with Biden.
Hur testified earlier this month that Zwonitzer had “slid” files containing audio recordings and transcripts of conversations with Biden “into his recycle bin on his computer” after discovering that a special counsel had been appointed to investigate the matter.
Assistant Attorney General Carlos Uriarte wrote in a letter on Monday that “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.”
