House Republican lawmakers are demanding the Justice Department provide the full transcript of Joe Biden's interview with Special Counsel Robert Hur related to his investigation into the Democratic president's mishandling of classified documents.
Last week, Hur released his final report after months of investigation, recommending the DOJ not press charges against Biden even though he determined that the Democratic president purposely withheld and transmitted classified documents.
🚨BREAKING🚨
We are giving the Justice Department until February 19 at 5p to produce the transcript of President Biden’s interview with Special Counsel Robert Hur and other documents included in the report that relate to our impeachment inquiry.
Americans deserve transparency… pic.twitter.com/JtVZ2LY3nz
— Oversight Committee (@GOPoversight) February 12, 2024
According to Hur, Biden would be seen by a jury as a "well-meaning elderly man with a poor memory" after his interview. Therefore, he recommended that no charges be filed.
Now, House Republicans, relying on their impeachment investigation against Biden, are demanding the entire interview from the DOJ, with a deadline of February 19.
In a letter sent to Attorney General Merrick Garland, Republicans said they want "unfettered access to these documents to determine if President Biden’s retention of sensitive materials were used to help the Bidens’ influence peddling."
The letter was signed by the chairman of the House Oversight Committee, James Comer; House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan; and Ways and Means Committee Chairman Jason Smith, who are leading the impeachment investigation against the president.
In the letter, the lawmakers raised concerns about whether Biden withheld "sensitive documents related to specific countries involving his family’s foreign business dealings."
"Further, we seek to understand whether the White House or President Biden's personal attorneys placed any limitations or scoping restrictions during the interview that would have precluded a line of inquiry regarding evidence (emails, text messages, or witness statements) directly linking the President to troublesome foreign payments," the Republican leaders wrote.
Additionally, the representatives questioned special counsel Hur's recommendation not to file charges despite clear evidence that the president "withheld and voluntarily transmitted classified materials."
"Although Mr. Hur reasoned that President Biden's presentation 'as a sympathetic, well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory' who 'did not remember when he was vice president' or 'when his son Beau died' posed challenges to proving the President's guilt beyond a reasonable doubt, the report concluded that the Department's principles of prosecution weighed against prosecution because the Department has not prosecuted 'a former president or vice president for mishandling classified documents from his own administration,'" they ruled.
