House Republicans are moving forward with efforts to hold Attorney General Merrick Garland in contempt of Congress for refusing to release audio recordings of special counsel Robert Hur’s interviews with President Joe Biden. The House Oversight and Judiciary committees will each hold markups on reports recommending a contempt resolution against Garland. Republicans have been seeking the audio recordings since Hur concluded his investigation into Biden’s handling of classified documents in February. Despite the lack of charges against the president, Republicans have focused on Hur’s characterization of Biden as a “well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory” in his final report.
Even though CNN has filed a lawsuit seeking access to the recordings of federal investigators’ interviews with Biden, the Department of Justice has refused to release them. House Republicans argue that the audio recordings are essential for their impeachment inquiry into Biden, but the investigation has been stalling, and the likelihood of impeachment appears increasingly unlikely. The Department has provided most of the subpoenaed materials to House Republicans, including transcripts of the interviews, but has refused to release the audio files, stating that Republicans have not shown a legitimate legislative purpose for requesting the recordings.
In their contempt reports, Republicans asserted that the Department of Justice cannot dictate to Congress how to conduct an impeachment inquiry or oversight, and that the verbal nuances in audio recordings provide unique insights not captured in transcripts. The DOJ has emphasized privacy concerns related to releasing audio recordings and potential deterrence of cooperation from future witnesses. Republicans dispute this, arguing that important contextual cues, such as tone and delivery pace, are missing in transcripts. They cited an example of discrepancies between a transcript and audio recording of President Biden during a recent speech.
DOJ Assistant Attorney General Carlos Uriarte has criticized Republicans for rushing towards contempt despite receiving information that addresses their allegations against the president. He questioned the necessity of the audio recordings for legislative or impeachment purposes and raised concerns about potential political motivations behind the demands. Republicans have countered that while transcripts provide the words spoken, they lack essential verbal and nonverbal cues that can indicate a witness’ credibility or intentions during an interview.
Amid the ongoing disagreements, the House Oversight Committee rescheduled its markup to accommodate Republican members attending the criminal trial of former President Donald Trump in New York City. The schedule change was attributed to member conflicts, indicating the significant attention and engagements of committee members. It remains to be seen how House Republicans will proceed with their efforts to hold Attorney General Garland in contempt of Congress and whether they will obtain access to the audio recordings of special counsel Hur’s interviews with President Biden and his ghostwriter.
