House GOP threatens to hold AG Garland in contempt of Congress over recordings of Biden interview in Hur case

House Republicans are threatening to hold Attorney General Merrick Garland in contempt of Congress over the Justice Department’s failure to produce subpoenaed audio recordings of former Special Counsel Robert Hur’s interview with President Biden as part of the investigation into his handling of classified records. 

Fox News Digital obtained a letter that House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., and House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, wrote to Garland on Monday. 

‘The Department continues to withhold additional material responsive to the Committees’ subpoenas – specifically the audio recordings of Special Counsel Hur’s interviews with President Biden and the transcript and audio recordings of Special Counsel Hur’s interviews with Mr. Zwonitzer,’ Comer and Jordan wrote. ‘The February 27 subpoenas create a legal obligation on you to produce this material.’ 

Comer and Jordan said they expect Garland ‘to produce all responsive materials no later than 12:00 p.m. on April 8, 2024.’ 

‘If you fail to do so, the Committees will consider taking further action, such as the invocation of contempt of Congress proceedings,’ they wrote. 

Comer and Jordan subpoenaed the Justice Department for a transcript of Hur’s interview with Biden and audio recordings. 

Just hours before Hur was scheduled to testify publicly earlier this month, the DOJ produced to the committees two redacted transcripts of Hur’s interviews with Biden. 

The Justice Department did not, however, produce the audio recordings of the interviews. Comer and Jordan said the committees ‘specifically prioritized’ the production of those audio recordings. 

Meanwhile, Comer and Jordan subpoenaed Mark Zwonitzer last week. The subpoena compels Zwonitzer to turn over all documents and communications with Biden or his staff related to his ghostwriting work on Biden’s memoirs ‘Promise Me, Dad’ and ‘Promises to Keep,’ including emails, call logs and more. 

The subpoena also compels Zwonitzer to turn over all contracts and agreements related to his work, along with audio recordings of interviews and conversations with Biden and transcripts of those conversations and interviews. 

The president has claimed that he did not share classified information with Zwonitzer, but Hur’s report, released last month, states that Biden would ‘read from his notebooks nearly verbatim, sometimes for an hour or more at a time,’ and ‘at least three times President Biden read classified notes from national security meetings’ to Zwonitzer ‘nearly verbatim.’ 

Hur testified earlier this month that Zwonitzer ‘slid’ files of audio recordings and transcripts of conversations with Biden ‘into his recycle bin on his computer’ upon learning that a special counsel had been appointed to investigate the matter.

Jordan, during Hur’s public hearing earlier this month, asked whether the ghostwriter tried to ‘destroy the evidence.’ 

‘Correct,’ Hur testified. 

Hur did not bring charges after his months-long investigation.