House Republicans subpoenaed the Department of Justice (DOJ) on Tuesday for the transcript of President Joe Biden’s interview with special counsel Robert Hur, the Daily Caller has learned.
Hur released his report on Biden’s handling of classified documents earlier in February, in which he detailed a five-hour interview with the president over the course of Oct. 8-9. In his report, the special counsel made comments about Biden’s declining mental state, noting that he appeared to forget when his vice presidency began and ended as well as the date of his late son’s death.
The House Judiciary and Oversight Committees notified Attorney General Merrick Garland of the subpoena on Tuesday in a letter obtained by the Daily Caller. The committees previously requested that the DOJ provide the transcript by Feb. 19 at 5 p.m., but the department did not do so.
“The Oversight and Judiciary Committees, in coordination with the Ways and Means Committee, are investigating whether sufficient grounds exist to draft articles of impeachment against President Biden for consideration by the full House,” the letter states. “The Committees further seek to understand whether the White House or President Biden’s personal attorneys placed any limitations or scoping restrictions during the interviews with Special Counsel Hur or Mr. Mark Zwonitzer precluding or addressing any potential statements directly linking President Biden to troublesome foreign payments.”
Whether or not to release the transcript of the Hur interview has been the topic of much debate amongst Biden allies and opponents alike. (RELATED: Special Counsel Calls Biden ‘Well-Meaning Elderly Man With A Poor Memory’)
The White House said Hur’s characterizations of Biden were “gratuitous” and unnecessary, and disputed their accuracy. Critics responded by calling for the release of the transcript, claiming that doing so would prove the White House correct. However, an attorney for Biden previously refused to say whether he supported releasing the transcript and recordings of the interview.
The FBI previously uncovered documents relating to U.S. foreign policy in Afghanistan and handwritten notebook entries concerning sensitive national security matters at Biden’s Wilmington, Delaware, estate. Hur cited the DOJ policy on prosecuting a president to justify his decision not to press charges against Biden.
Biden gave a rare press conference following the release of the special counsel report to dispel concerns about his age, but in doing so deflected blame to his staff for the classified documents scandal. He also mixed up the presidents of Egypt and Mexico.
“I take responsibility for not having seen exactly what my staff was doing,” Biden said during the press conference.
“Things that appeared in my garage, things that came out of my home, things that were moved, were moved not by me, but my staff, but my staff,” he continued.
Biden asked if he was careless: “I take responsibility for not having seen exactly what my staff was doing.” pic.twitter.com/BOe6rLGYpg
— Alex Thompson (@AlexThomp) February 9, 2024
Biden also lashed out at reporters who asked him about his age and mental fitness during the press conference, shouting that Americans did not assess him as too old, the press did.
Yikes pic.twitter.com/Kvj4W5tPwN
— Chief Nerd (@TheChiefNerd) February 9, 2024
The president castigated Hur for questioning him on the death of his late son, Beau, who died of cancer. However, reports indicated that it was Biden himself, not Hur, who initially brought up the subject of Beau’s death during their interview.
After the press conference, Biden allies attempted to further discredit the report by casting Hur as a partisan Republican operative. However, Hur was appointed by Biden’s own Attorney General, Merrick Garland. Garland said he entrusted Hur to do a good job with the investigation, but the White House is reportedly upset with Garland over the results of the investigation.
Before the report was released, the White House reportedly pressured Hur to take out certain elements that called into question Biden’s mental faculties, which have become a hot topic on the campaign trail ahead of the 2024 election. (RELATED: Robert Hur’s Report Is Perhaps The Most Devastating Thing Ever Written About Joe Biden)
Hur is expected to testify on his findings for Congressional Republicans next month.