House Republicans seek testimony as well as transcripts from Biden special counsel: Sources
Written by ABC AUDIO ALL RIGHTS RESERVED on February 13, 2024
(WASHINGTON0 — House Republicans will seek testimony from special counsel Robert Hur in addition to requests made Monday for documents, including transcripts and audio recordings, stemming from Hur’s report released last week on the investigation into President Joe Biden’s handling of classified documents, multiple sources told ABC News.
On Monday afternoon, after ABC News reported the developments, the GOP-led House Judiciary, House Oversight and House Ways and Means committees released a letter sent to Attorney General Merrick Garland asking for the transcripts and audio recordings, saying they were needed for their impeachment inquiry into Biden, claiming that he, among other things, “may have retained sensitive documents related to specific countries involving his family’s foreign business dealings.”
Although Hur decided that no charges against President Biden were warranted, the White House has forcefully pushed back on assertions made in the report related to Biden’s mental acuity.
White House counsel’s office spokesman Ian Sams did not give a definitive answer when asked last week about releasing the full transcripts of Biden’s interview with Hur, saying “its a reasonable question” while noting “there were classified stuff and we have to work through all that.”
When asked if Biden would support the release, Sams said, “We’ll take a look at that and make a determination.”
According to his report, Hur considered charging Biden’s ghostwriter who deleted audio files of interviews with Biden after the special counsel was appointed but ultimately decided against it. The FBI was able to recover the deleted files from the ghostwriter’s computer, according to the report.
However, some legal experts say it could be more difficult to obtain these records from the Justice Department, given there are no charges. The DOJ could also potentially claim it is investigative material as a reason not to disclose any audio recordings or transcripts.
Prior to the report’s release last week, Republican House Oversight Chairman James Comer sent Hur a letter last October seeking documents and information related to the investigation.
President Biden on Monday declined to answer reporter questions about he wanted the transcripts made public.
The special counsel’s office declined comment.
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