House Oversight Committee Chair James Comer (R-KY) lost his temper after DOJ rejected his request for the Biden/Hur interview audio.
It is important for the Department to understand why the Committees believe they still need the information in these files,” Assistant Attorney General Carolos Uriarte wrote in his letter.
He stated the Justice Department had put in a lot of effort to respond to congressional requests and argued that as a result, the committees had already “received an extraordinary amount of information—and quickly.”
Uriarte said the Justice Department was “concerned” that Jordan and Comer’s requests for the audio version of the interview — even though they had already reviewed a transcript — was intended to “serve political purposes that should not play a role in handling law enforcement files.”
Releasing the audio files to Congress, he wrote Monday, posed the risk of “chilling” future investigations if witnesses feared that audio versions of their interviews might be released.
The DOJ response caused Comer to lose his temper and essentially accuse President Biden of a cover-up:
🚨STATEMENT🚨
The Biden Administration does not get to determine what Congress needs and does not need for its oversight of the executive branch.
The American people deserve to hear the actual audio of President Biden’s answers to Special Counsel Hur.
Full statement👇 pic.twitter.com/voeewim2Pz
— Rep. James Comer (@RepJamesComer) April 8, 2024
DOJ was right. Jordan and Comer have no legislative reason to request the audio. The Oversight and Judiciary Committees already have the transcripts and the testimony of Robert Hur before the House Judiciary Committee. There is absolutely no justification for the DOJ to hand over the audio to Jordan and Comer.
The audio doesn’t align with the scope of the Biden impeachment investigation, and it would definitely make other witnesses less trusting of federal law enforcement if they thought that their interview would be handed over to Congress and broadcast to the entire world.
Biden impeachment is no longer a concern, and Comer and Jordan were called out by the DOJ for trying to misuse their oversight power for a political act.
