Republican Ohio Rep. Jim Jordan, Chair of the House Judiciary Committee, and Republican Kentucky Rep. James Comer, Chair of the House Oversight Committee, sent a letter Monday to Attorney General Merrick Garland calling on the Department of Justice (DOJ) to comply with subpoenas issued by both committees or face contempt of Congress.
The Daily Caller first obtained a copy of the letter, in which the two lawmakers renew demands for the audio recordings of Special Counsel Robert Hur’s interviews with President Joe Biden and the transcript and audio recordings of Hur’s interviews with Biden’s ghostwriter Mark Zwonitzer. The committees previously requested both, however the DOJ only sent back two transcripts of Hur’s interview with Zwonitzer and withheld the audio recordings of Hur’s interviews of Biden and Zwonitzer.
WASHINGTON, DC – APRIL 16: U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland appears at a House Appropriations Committee hearing on Capitol Hill on April 16, 2024 in Washington, DC. Garland is on Capitol Hill to present the 2025 budget request for the Department of Justice. (Photo by Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)
WASHINGTON, DC – MARCH 12: Rep. James Comer (R-KY) (L) talks to Chairman Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) as former Special Counsel Robert K. Hur testifies before the House Judiciary Committee on March 12, 2024 in Washington, DC. Hur investigated U.S. President Joe Biden’s mishandling of classified documents and published a final report with contentious conclusions about Biden’s memory. (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images)
WASHINGTON, DC – DECEMBER 13: (L-R) Chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee Rep. Jason Smith (R-MO), Chairman of the House Oversight Committee Rep. James Comer (R-KY) and Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) speak to reporters after the House voted to formally authorize the impeachment inquiry into U.S. President Joe Biden, in Statuary Hall at the U.S. Capitol on December 13, 2023 in Washington, DC. The vote was 221-212 along party lines. (Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images)
“On February 27, 2024, the Committee on the Judiciary and the Committee on Oversight and Accountability issued subpoenas to you for a narrow and specific set of material in the Department of Justice’s possession relating to Special Counsel Robert K. Hur’s investigation of President Joe Biden’s ‘willful’ mishandling of classified documents. Your response to the subpoenas remains inadequate, suggesting that you are withholding records for partisan purposes and to avoid political embarrassment for President Biden,” the lawmakers wrote in the letter. (RELATED: EXCLUSIVE: Jim Jordan Demands Docs, Communications Between Big Tech And FBI)
READ THE LETTER HERE:
(DAILY CALLER OBTAINED) — … by Henry Rodgers
The lawmakers warned if they do not receive the requested material by 12:00 p.m. on April 25 they will invoke contempt of Congress proceedings. (RELATED: EXCLUSIVE: House Republicans Threaten To Subpoena Jack Smith)
“If the Department continues to withhold materials responsive to the Committees’ subpoenas—namely, the audio recordings of Special Counsel Hur’s interviews with President Biden and Mr. Zwonitzer—we will have no choice but to invoke contempt of Congress proceedings. To avoid this, the Committees expect you to produce all responsive materials no later than 12:00 p.m. on April 25, 2024.”
Hur released his special counsel report on Feb. 8 detailing Biden’s handling of classified documents. While Hur decided not to pursue charges against the president, the special counsel made note of Biden’s declining mental state.
WASHINGTON, DC – DECEMBER 6: U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland (L) listens as FBI Director Christopher Wray speaks during a press conference at the U.S. Department of Justice on December 6, 2023 in Washington, DC. The Department of Justice announced today that four Russian military personnel have been indicted for war crimes committed against a U.S. national living in Ukraine, the first of such charges ever to be brought under the U.S. war crimes statute. (Photo by Samuel Corum/Getty Images)
WASHINGTON, DC – JULY 19: (L-R) Committee chairman Rep. James Comer (R-KY) and Rep. Jason Smith (R-MO) look on as Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) questions witnesses during a House Oversight Committee hearing related to the Justice Department’s investigation of Hunter Biden, on Capitol Hill July 19, 2023 in Washington, DC. The committee heard testimony from two whistleblowers from the Internal Revenue Service who allege that the Hunter Biden criminal probe was mishandled by the Department of Justice. (Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images)
In a five-hour interview with the president on Oct. 8-9, Hur noted that Biden seemed to forget when his vice presidency began and ended as well as when his late son, Beau Biden, died.
The report added that if Biden were to appear before a jury, he would present himself as a “sympathetic, well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory.” (RELATED: Hur Reportedly Seeking To Testify In Front Of GOP Over Biden Special Counsel Report)
The White House has criticized Hur’s report and characterization of Biden’s memory, going as far as to label the report as “flatly wrong,” “inappropriate and “gratuitous.”
Biden himself addressed the report in a press conference after its release, during which he blamed his staff and took no responsibility for mishandling classified documents, and claimed concerns about his mental faculties are a press fabrication.