Speaker Johnson goes after Biden's decision on to block special counsel audio

(16 May 2024)
RESTRICTION SUMMARY:

ASSOCIATED PRESS
Washington DC - 16 May 2024
1. Cutaway of House GOP leaders on the steps of the Capitol
2. SOUNDBITE (English) Rep. Mike Johnson, Speaker of the House:
"About an hour ago, we learned that President Biden has invoked executive privilege to prevent the American people from hearing the audio recordings of his testimony with special counsel Robert Hur. The American people will not be able to hear why prosecutors felt that the president of the United States was and special counsel Robert Hur's words, a, quote, elderly man with a poor memory and thus shouldn't be charged. Just think about that for a moment. President Biden is apparently afraid for the citizens of this country and everyone to hear those tapes. They obviously confirm what the special counsel has found and would likely cause, I suppose, in his estimation, such alarm with the American people that the president is using all of his power to suppress their release and rather than defend our closest ally at war, President Biden is using his authority to defend himself politically."
3. Cutaway of leaders walking back up the Capitol steps
STORYLINE:
House Speaker Mike Johnson on Thursday accused President Biden of suppressing the special counsel’s interview with President Joe Biden over his handling of classified documents.

Garland told reporters the Justice Department has gone to extraordinary lengths to provide information to the committees about special counsel Robert Hur's investigation, including a transcript of Biden's interview with Hur.

But, Garland said, releasing the audio could jeopardize future sensitive and high-profile investigations. Officials have suggested handing over the tape could make future witnesses concerned about cooperating with investigators.

Johnson said Biden is afraid to have voters hear it during an election year.

The White House has blocked the release of the audio, arguing Republicans in Congress only want the recordings “to chop them up” and use them for political purposes as the Democratic president seeks reelection.

A transcript of the Hur interview showed Biden struggling to recall some dates and occasionally confusing some details — something longtime aides says he’s done for years in both public and private — but otherwise showing deep recall in other areas. Biden and his aides are particularly sensitive to questions about his age. At 81, he’s the oldest ever president, and he's seeking another four-year term.

Hur, a former senior official in the Trump administration Justice Department, was appointed as a special counsel in January 2023 following the discovery of classified documents in multiple locations tied to Biden.

Hur’s report said many of the documents recovered at the Penn Biden Center in Washington, in parts of Biden’s Delaware home and in his Senate papers at the University of Delaware were retained by “mistake.”

But investigators did find evidence of willful retention and disclosure related a subset of records found in Biden’s Wilmington, Delaware, house, including in a garage, an office and a basement den.

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