Internet blasts DOJ for rejecting House Republicans' demands for audio tapes of Biden-Hur interview

WASHINGTON, DC: The Department of Justice rejected the two Republican-led House committees' requests for the audio recordings of special counsel Robert Hur's interview with President Joe Biden, the New York Post reported.

According to the department, sending the audio is unnecessary and could jeopardize any investigations in the future.

"The Committees have already received the extraordinary accommodation of the transcripts," wrote Assistant Attorney General Carlos Uriarte in a letter to House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer and Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan on Monday, April 8.

He added, "To go further by producing the audio files would compound the likelihood that future prosecutors will be unable to secure this level of cooperation. They might have a harder time obtaining consent to an interview at all." 

Comer and Jordan, in late February, subpoenaed the DOJ for audio files of investigation against the 81-year-old president. In March, House Republicans threatened to hold Attorney General Merrick Garland in criminal contempt if the department failed to deliver the audio of the interview with Biden and Mark Zwonitzer, his ghostwriter.

The deadline to produce the audio was noon April 8.

DOJ urges House committees to avoid conflict

"Our productions on each of the four subpoena items have met or exceeded the Committees' stated informational needs. Yet the Committees have responded with escalation and threats of criminal contempt," noted Assistant Attorney General Uriarte in the letter after bucking the Monday deadline to produce the audio.

He added, "We are therefore concerned that the Committees are disappointed not because you didn't receive information, but because you did. We urge the Committees to avoid conflict rather than seek it." 

Alongside Uriarte's letter, the DOJ turned over a transcript of Hur's interview with Zwonitzer.

The House Republicans have been compelling to obtain the audio of the interviews after special counsel Hur released the 388-page report noting evidence of Biden willfully retaining classified materials. However, he refrained to press charges, citing insufficient proof.

Hur's report made headlines because it described the POTUS as an "elderly man with a poor memory" who could not remember the date of his son Beau Biden's death.

The DOJ furnished a transcript of the nearly five-hour interview of Hur and Biden before the special counsel testified to the Judiciary Committee about his findings in March.

Comer and Jordan have sought specific items, including "records, including transcripts, notes, video, and audio files, related to Special Counsel Robert Hur's investigation," from the DOJ.

Emphasizing that the department was trying to fulfill the committee requests to the possible extent, Uriarte wrote, "The Department produced Special Counsel Hur's report to Congress so quickly that the Committees did not even have to ask for it. There were no additional redactions for the Committees to demand that the Department lift."

"There was no dispute between the Department or the Committees over whether Mr Hur would testify—he readily agreed," claimed the letter, further insisting committees not disclose the information without consulting them.

Biden's classified document saga is considered a key piece in the ongoing GOP-led impeachment probe against him.

Internet reacts as the DOJ denies to turn over Biden-Hur interview audio

One remarked, "Two tiered justice continues," and another noted, "most corrupt DoJ ever what are they afraid of?"

"Of course. This is what happens when you own the DOJ -- there's no one left to enforce law," added a person, while someone else simply wrote, "Rules For thee..."

One more claimed, "Well how do you expect them to spin it if we actually hear it for ourselves. Probably even worse than what we’ve been told."

"How obvious can the bias corruption be?" questioned an individual questioned. Another person wrote, "Now y'all see, this administration is corrupt, along with its weaponized DOJ."

"Biden’s weaponized DOJ protects democrats and goes to the furthest extremes to destroy republicans," declared a netizen. 

This article contains remarks made on the Internet by individual people and organizations. MEAWW cannot confirm them independently and does not support claims or opinions being made online.