- House Republicans lamented that the transcript was released minutes before the hearing
- Hur testified about his 388-page report, but did not try to go beyond that
- He said his report was based on “all the evidence,” including recordings
<!–
<!–
<!– <!–
<!–
<!–
<!–
House Republicans are setting up the next point of tension with the Justice Department, demanding the release of audio recordings related to special counsel Robert Hur’s investigation into classified documents and his five-hour interview with President Biden.
Several GOP lawmakers cried foul over the way the DOJ released the 250-page hard copy of Biden’s interview that they had demanded. The agency provided it to Congress minutes before Tuesday’s hearing with Hur. That had the effect of burying the information amid the media focus on the televised event where Hur testified Tuesday.
But House Judiciary Representative Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) asked Hur why Congress shouldn’t also get the recordings related to his investigation, which resulted in a 388-page report.
He asked Hur, who left government service on Monday, if there was any reason ‘why the American people and their representatives in the US Congress should not have access to these tapes?
House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) pressed special counsel Robert Hur on whether the government would provide audio recordings for his investigation of classified documents
Hur did not advocate one way or the other or commit to the government releasing the tapes, but made it clear that his investigators were relying on the audio in his probe.
“Chairman, what I can tell you is that my assessment that went into my conclusions that I described, my report was not based solely on the transcript, it was based on all of the evidence, including the audio recordings,” said Hur, a Donald Trump staffer who testified he was a registered Republican when Democratic Rep. Hank Johnson tried to cast him as a partisan looking for a new job.
Jordan pressed again, asking ‘shouldn’t the United States Congress have access to the same information?’
“It’s not for me to weigh what information Congress should or shouldn’t have,” said Hur, who again said recordings were part of the evidence he was considering.
He said it was up to the Justice Department, citing his departure from the agency.
Tuesday’s televised hearings also included testimony from Hur about Biden’s taped conversations with his ghostwriter.
Special counsel Robert Hur said his report was ‘based on all the evidence, including the audio recordings’ when asked why Congress should not receive them
Hur’s report contained explosive information about President Biden’s memory
House Republicans, including Jordan and Rep. James Comer (R-Ky.) is demanding audio recordings related to Hur’s investigation
Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz complained that ghostwriter Mark Zwonitzer, who provided transcripts of conversations with Biden that revealed classified information, was not charged after deleting tapes of their conversations.
‘What does someone have to do to be accused of obstructing justice by you?’ Gaetz Hur asked.
Hur says in his report that Zwonitzer’s actions, “including the production to the special counsel of transcripts mentioning classified information — suggest that his decision to delete the recordings was not intended to hide those materials from investigators.” He also sat for voluntary interviews and did not invoke his Fifth Amendment rights.
If Republicans are able to compel production of tapes of Biden’s interviews, it could provide additional news cycles of coverage or potentially provide new or embarrassing information.
The printed transcript refers to several Biden comments that are “unremarkable.”