Judicial Watch announced today it has filed a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit against the Department of Justice to obtain records of communication between the agency and the White House concerning altered transcripts of Special Counsel Robert Hur’s October 2023 interviews with Biden.
These interviews are part of the criminal investigation into Biden’s alleged theft and disclosure of classified records (Judicial Watch v. U.S. Department of Justice, No. 1:24-cv-02176). This lawsuit is one of three FOIA lawsuits filed this week related to the Hur investigation.
A different Judicial Watch lawsuit forced the Biden administration to admit that the transcripts of the audio recordings were altered and were not accurate. Judicial Watch initiated the current lawsuit after the DOJ inadequately responded to a FOIA request on June 1, 2024. The request sought:
1. All records of communication between any DOJ official or employee and any official or employee of the Executive Office of the President regarding the creation, editing, or release of the transcripts of President Biden's interviews by Special Counsel Robert Hur on October 8 and 9, 2023. This includes all communications involving Mr. Hur or any official or employee assigned to his office.
2. All records of communication between any DOJ official or employee and the court reporters responsible for creating or editing the transcripts of the interviews, including communications with any officer, employee, or representative of Free State Reporting, Inc.
3. All directions, instructions, or guidance documents provided to the court reporters responsible for creating or editing the transcripts of the interviews, including communications with any officer, employee, or representative of Free State Reporting, Inc.
In addition to this lawsuit, Judicial Watch filed two other FOIA lawsuits this week: one for background materials referenced in Hur’s February 2020 report (Judicial Watch v. U.S. Department of Justice, No. 1:24-cv-02177) and another for all communications about the Hur report with the Office of the White House Counsel and Biden’s personal lawyers (Judicial Watch v. U.S. Department of Justice, No. 1:24-cv-02179).
On February 5, 2024, Special Counsel Robert Hur issued the “Report of the Special Counsel on the Investigation Into Unauthorized Removal, Retention, and Disclosure of Classified Documents Discovered at Locations Including the Penn Biden Center and the Delaware Private Residence of President Joseph R. Biden, Jr.” In the report, Hur described Biden as a “well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory” and declined to charge him with a serious felony, citing the difficulty in convincing a jury that Biden, an elderly former president, had the willfulness required for such a charge.
Before the report was finalized, the White House sent a letter to the Special Counsel’s office criticizing the report's treatment of Biden’s memory and asserting that Biden performed well in answering questions during the interview.
“The Biden Justice Department is engaged in a major league cover-up for Joe Biden,” said Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton. “Hiding audio recordings, altering transcripts, and ignoring FOIA law shows that the Biden team is desperate to avoid disclosure about Joe Biden’s cognitive condition.”
