President Joe Biden blocked the release of some audio tapes from the interviews about the investigation into the way he handled classified files. The Department of Justice sent a letter to Republicans saying Biden is taking advantage of his executive privileges. Republicans wanted the tapes of Biden’s interview with Special Counsel Robert Hur released, but Biden basically said NOPE.
If you remember the Hur report, it criticized Biden’s memory and age, saying he was basically a “well-meaning elderly man with a poor memory.” Joe Biden, however, doesn’t think that’s the case and said he knows what he’s doing. Fast forward to Attorney General Merrick Garland and the DOJ who are both facing attacks from the Republicans now.
Garland may even be held in contempt of congress if he doesn’t respond to subpoenas on the DOJ put in place by Republicans. A political news article on Yahoo reported more on Merrick Garland’s situation revolving around Biden blocking the tapes and potential subpoenas from lawmakers:
He [Garland] told Mr Biden in a letter on Wednesday that legal counsel had determined the tapes “fall within the scope of executive privilege” – clearing the deck for the White House to withhold their release.
Mr Garland noted that the president had fully co-operated with the criminal investigation and sat voluntarily for the five-hour interview with Mr Hur’s team.
Mr Biden confirmed he was blocking the release of the tapes in a separate letter from his White House counsel to the committee chairmen on Thursday morning.
