Attorney General Merrick Garland testifies to House Judiciary
Attorney General Merrick Garland has testified to the House Judiciary regarding the Justice Department’s fairness following GOP calls to release audio between President Biden and Special Counsel Robert Hur.
In a 2023 recording former President Joe Biden at times speaks haltingly, having what appears to be repeated memory lapses as he speaks about his handling of classified documents as vice president.
The recording of Biden’s five plus hours of interviews with special counsel Robert Hur held over two sessions were released by Axios on May 16. Hur ultimately decided not to prosecute Biden for improper possession of classified documents. He asserted that jurors would have viewed Biden as “a sympathetic, well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory.”
The audio release comes amid similar reports from a new book that probes Biden’s memory and lapses in office titled “Original Sin,” by Axios’ Alex Thompson and CNN’s Jake Tapper. It will be released Tuesday.
Little new information
The audio released by Axios doesn’t provide unknown exchanges between Biden and Hur, but it does provide further insight into why Hur described Biden the way he did.
At some times, Biden speaks almost at a whisper and has long pauses between words as he answers questions. He struggles to recall key dates, such as the year when his eldest son Beau Biden died. A ticking clock in the background emphasized the time Biden spent answering.
At other times in the audio, Biden answers succinctly and clearly with no delays. He cracks jokes about his age and tells side stories.
Why was the whole audio released?
The Biden administration released a lightly redacted transcript of the interview while in office, but not the audio, asserting executive privilege.
Several media outlets reported earlier this month that the Trump administration was preparing releasing the full audio. Trump faced charges related to keeping hundreds of classified documents and refusing to turn them over to the FBI while Biden was under investigation for retaining classified documents.
Biden acknowledges that he might have wanted to keep a document ‘for posterity sake’
When pressed on whether he may have intentionally kept a classified document related to Afghanistan, Biden said, “I guess I wanted to hang onto it just for posterity’s sake.”
The document was referenced in multiple books after Biden left office. Biden’s attorney jumped in to clarify that Hur’s team had asked a speculative question that did not reflect Biden’s initial answer.