WASHINGTON – The House Judiciary Committee plans to prepare a resolution for passage Attorney General Merrick Garland Contempt of Congress for refusing to release the audio of President Joe Biden’s interview former special prosecutor Robert HurA source familiar with the committee’s plans confirmed to NBC News.
The committee currently plans to hold a “check-in” for the contempt resolution on May 16, after which the panel could vote to send the matter to the full House for a vote.
Biden sat down for a lengthy interview with Hur as part of the special counsel’s investigation into the president’s handling of classified documents. In his final report, Hur declined to press charges against Biden, but said the president “an old man with poor memory” who will sympathize with the jury, It angered the White House and allies of Biden.
House Republicans have repeatedly pressed the Justice Department for audio of the interview, but those requests have been denied. DOJ provided implementing committees impeachment inquiry Biden a full transcript of the interview and said Republicans did not explain why the vote was needed, accusing them of seeking investigative material to “serve political purposes that have no role in the work of law enforcement files.”
House Republicans fried Hur For hours at open auditions in March. Although they have access to the full transcript, the committee believes they need the audio because it could provide insight into Hur’s assessment that Biden’s age and lack of memory played a role in his decision not to indict the president.
During testimony before the House Judiciary Committee, Hur testified that while he had no opinion on whether Congress should gain access to the records, the vote was a major factor in his decision not to press charges.
“It’s not for me to speculate on what information Congress may or may not have,” Hur said, adding, “The tapes were certainly part of the evidence I considered in reaching my conclusions.”
The DOJ declined to comment on the potential flagging of a resolution to hold Garland in contempt.
In a May 25 letter to House committees leading Biden impeachment inquiryAssistant Attorney General Carlos Felipe Uriarte accused the committees of not adequately explaining why the tape was needed.
“Despite our numerous requests, the Committees have not expressed a legitimate Congressional need to obtain audio recordings from Mr. Hur’s investigation that outweighs the Department’s strong interest in protecting the confidentiality of law enforcement documents,” he wrote. “The department will continue to cooperate reasonably and appropriately, but we will not compromise the long-term integrity of our law enforcement work.”
It was The Washington Examiner reports first A potential sign of a contempt resolution against Garland.