WASHINGTON (AP) — The White House has blocked the release of audio from the United States. President Joe Biden’s meeting with special counsel As for what to do with his classified documents, he argued Thursday that Republicans in Congress only want to “chop up” the recordings and use them for political purposes.
The debate over access to the recordings has been central to the Republican effort. Attorney General Merrick Garland It is a disregard for Congress and, more broadly, an attempt to thwart the Democratic president’s re-election efforts in the final months of a close election campaign.
In a scathing letter to House Republicans ahead of schedule, White House Counsel Ed Siskel wrote, “The lack of a legitimate need for audio recordings means that they can be mutilated, distorted, and partisan. “The likely purpose of using it for political purposes has been exposed.” Two House committees voted to refer Garland to the Justice Department. offense of contempt Regarding the department’s refusal to hand over the audio.
“It is inappropriate for the executive branch to request such sensitive and constitutionally protected law enforcement materials because it wishes to manipulate the information for potential political gain.” Siskel added.
In a separate letter released Thursday, Garland told Biden that the audio falls within executive privilege, which protects the president’s ability to obtain candid advice from his advisers without fear of immediate public disclosure and that it is not relevant to his official duties. Advised that confidential communications can be protected.
Garland wrote that the lawmakers’ needs were “clearly insufficient to outweigh the negative impact that producing the recordings would have on the integrity and effectiveness of future similar law enforcement investigations.”
The Justice Department also warned Congress that the contempt efforts would create “unnecessary and unwarranted conflict,” with Assistant Attorney General Carlos Uriarte saying: Claims of executive privilege cannot be used in contempt of Congress.
Siskel’s letter to lawmakers will be submitted later. The uproar among Biden’s aides and the allies are finished Comments from Special Counsel Robert Hur It’s about Biden’s age and mental acuity, and how potentially embarrassing moments in a lengthy interview could be made worse by the release, or selective release, of the audio in a tough election year. This highlights concerns about the
transcription of Her interview Mr. Biden has struggled to remember some dates and has occasionally shown confusion over some details, something longtime aides say he has done for years in both public and private life. ) but show deep memory in other areas. Mr. Biden and his aides are particularly sensitive to questions about age. He is 81 years old. oldest president in historyand he is seeking another four-year term.
Hmm, Former Trump administration Justice Department officialHe was appointed special counsel in January 2023 after classified documents related to Biden were discovered in multiple locations.
Mr. Xu’s report He said many of the documents recovered at the Penn Biden Center in Washington, parts of Biden’s home in Delaware and the Senate Archives at the University of Delaware had been stored “in error.”
But investigators found evidence of intentional retention and disclosure related to some of the records found in Biden’s Wilmington, Delaware, home, including in the garage, office and basement.
The files concern the Obama administration’s troop increase in Afghanistan, which Biden vehemently opposed. Mr. Biden kept records documenting his position, including a confidential letter he wrote to Mr. Obama during the 2009 Thanksgiving holiday. Some of that information was shared with a ghostwriter who published his memoirs in 2007 and 2017.
