Posted on 05/16/2024 10:48:44 AM PDT by Red Badger
The Justice Department's Legal Counsel Office said the recording should be considered protected by executive privilege. Chairman Comer says the claim "changes nothing" and vows to continue contempt proceedings.
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President Joe Biden on Thursday claimed the recording of his interview with Special Counsel Robert Hur about his retention of classified documents should not be released due to executive privilege just hours before House Republicans were set to move toward holding Attorney General Merrick Garland in contempt of Congress for not releasing the recordings.
The Justice Department's Legal Counsel Office said the recording should be considered protected by executive privilege, and Garland should not be punished for not releasing it, Associate Attorney General Carlos Uriatre said.
"I write to inform you that the President has asserted executive privilege over the requested audio recordings and is making a protective assertion of privilege over any remaining materials responsive to the subpoenas that have not already been produced," Uriatre wrote in a letter Thursday, according to CNN.
"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 held in contempt of Congress," he also wrote, per the Associated Press.
"Because of the President’s longstanding commitment to protecting the integrity, effectiveness, and independence of the Department of Justice and its law enforcement investigations, he has decided to assert executive privilege over the recordings," Counsel to the President Edward Siskel wrote in a letter to the Oversight and Judiciary Committees Thursday. Siskel also claimed providing the tapes would risk "harming future law enforcement investigations," according to the letter obtained by Just the News.
File 2024-05-16.Siskel_to_Comer_and_Jordan_re_Privilege.pdf The classified documents probe did not result in any charges being brought against the president, with Hur's report concluding that a jury would likely find him to be a "sympathetic, well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory."
House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer said Biden's executive privilege claim would not change his committee's efforts to hold Garland in contempt.
"It's a five-alarm fire at the White House. Clearly President Biden and his advisors fear releasing the audio recordings of his interview because it will again reaffirm to the American people that President Biden's mental state is in decline. The House Oversight Committee requires these recordings as part of our investigation of President Biden's mishandling of classified documents," Comer said in a statement posted to X.
"The White House is asserting executive privilege over the recordings, but it has already waived privilege by releasing the transcript of the interview. Today's Hail Mary from the White House changes nothing for our committee. The House Oversight Committee will move forward with its markup of a resolution and report recommending to the House of Representatives that Attorney General Garland be held in contempt of Congress for defying a lawful subpoena," he added.
It is a delay tactic in an attempt to not have the information impact the election.
Sounds just like Nixon and the tapes MO.
can’t Trump just waive Biden’s Executive Privilege?
I mean, Biden set that precedent that one president can waive the privilege of another president.
Say that 5 times!
The ratification of the 25th Amendment was a clear statement that the country did not want and should not be allowed to have an acting president unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office. The historic inabilities of Presidents Wilson and FDR and their coverups were known by then and were rejected as future options. The leading candidates for the election are the oldest in history. And with both having been previously accused, as President, of being unable to discharge those powers and duties; knowing whether the 25th is working properly is of vast importance. Congress has a specified power with corresponding constitutional oversight responsibility in that regard:
25th §4 "Whenever the Vice President and a majority of either the principal officers of the executive departments or of such other body as Congress may by law provide, transmit to the President pro tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives their written declaration that the President is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office…"Thus if those currently empowered to watch whether POTUS is unable aren't doing their job, Congress, and only Congress, can pick other watchers. To do that they need to understand the current watchers' POTUS evaluation and have some independent evaluation of POTUS' status.
When a non-'official 25th watcher,' yet someone whose position warrants some benefit of doubt, reports officially that POTUS is less than able, they have a duty to investigate further. And determine whether the report is true or not. And if it seems true, yet the problem hadn't been reported via official 25th amendment channels, why not? Perhaps the 25th reporting mechanism isn't working as intended and requires revision, which only Congress can provide. That investigative duty supersedes, at least narrowly, executive privilege restraints.
Have you seen the entire interview? I don't know whether a policy decision was involved.
This is an abuse of executive privilege. The transcript has already been released, is his voice covered by executive privilege or is the transcript at odds with the actual recording?
Corrupt criminal bass turd.
I’m seeing a double standard with executive privilege.
Then you must be a racist, homophobe, Christian conservative bigot that clings to guns and Bibles.............
Biden hopes Trump wins his executive immunity case before the SCOTUS. If we elect any GOP types with balls he could find himself in litigation.
I doubt that the transcript is truly accurate and reflects the mumblings and rantings of an impaired being.
Such BS.
“Appeal this to the supreme Court... And hurry!”
Do you think that congress even has the guts to do that. Not that I trust the USSC.
I am pretty sure that a recording would show that the transcript was doctored. “Cleaned up” at the very least. It might be a lot harder to clean up the recording to match the transcript.
They call every Republican Hitler.
They should look in the mirror some time...............
My first guess is that I think he probably rambled on in the recording, but it’s a rope-a-dope.
They’ll finally release it after Republicans make a big deal about it, and it’ll essentially be nothing useful. But then they can get on the liberal CNN and say “well look at the Republicans wasting time again!”
I think we should focus on beating him, not “getting him.”
He better watch out or Bragg will get him for interfering in an election or something.
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