The Justice Department notified Congress on Thursday that it will not respond to subpoenas seeking audio recordings of President Biden’s meetings with former special counsel Robert Hur.
Assistant Attorney General Carlos Uriarte wrote in an 11-page letter to House Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) that the recordings contain information relevant to the Republican-led impeachment inquiry. He rejected the claims of Supervisory Board Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.). 81 year old president.
Mr. Jordan and Mr. Comer threatened to begin contempt proceedings against Attorney General Merrick Garland if the Justice Department complied with the subpoena.
Uriarte argued that the Justice Department responded by releasing transcripts of interviews with Biden and other documents related to the federal investigation into the president’s handling of classified documents.
He called the insult threats “unreasonable” and defended the Justice Department’s cooperation with the impeachment committee as “extensive, thorough and consistent.”
“If the committee’s purpose was to receive information from the Department to advance its investigation, that purpose has been more than met,” Uriarte wrote. “Our collaboration has been exceptional.”
“The commission has not responded in kind,” he continued. “The more information we receive, the less complacent we feel, the less justified our contempt, and the further we seem to rush toward it.”
Justice Department officials accused the Judiciary Committee and Oversight Committee of failing to “identify the need for these audio files for legislative or impeachment purposes.”
Uriarte said this raises “concerns” that lawmakers may be seeking audio files to score political points.
“We do not obtain evidence of criminal investigations that could later be used for political purposes,” he wrote.
The Justice Department has already denied previous requests for audio of interviews between Mr. Xu and Mr. Biden, and releasing the recordings would make it more difficult for prosecutors to secure interviews with witnesses and suspects in future investigations. He argued that it would be.
Jordan and Comer issued a subpoena for the audio files in late February.
In addition to Mr. Biden’s interview transcript, the Justice Department also released Mr. Xu’s interview with the president’s ghostwriter, Mark Zwonitzer.
Mr. Ha, a former Maryland district attorney appointed by President Trump, submitted his findings on Mr. Biden’s handling of classified information in early February.
His 388-page bombshell report said there was evidence that the commander-in-chief “intentionally retained and disclosed classified material,” but his team found it “beyond a reasonable doubt.” ” concluded that there was not enough to prove it.
Hoare also expressed concern that jurors would view the oldest president in U.S. history as a “sympathetic, well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory.”
The newspaper has contacted Comer and Jordan’s offices for comment.
