The Republican-controlled House sent a criminal referral last week regarding President Joe Biden’s unauthorized possession of classified materials, but Garland disregarded a congressional subpoena for audio recordings made by former special counsel Robert Hur during the investigation. This is despite the Department of Justice (DOJ) prosecuting two of Trump’s former advisers, Steve Bannon and Peter Navarro, for the same thing after they claimed executive privilege. House Speaker Mike Johnson announced last week that the House will go to court to try and force the DOJ to surrender the recordings of Biden, which many Republicans suspect will further demonstrate Biden’s mental decline.
The GOP began seeking the recordings after learning that administration officials altered transcripts of Hur’s interviews with the president, which have already been released to Congress. Johnson also said he would ask a court to enforce the House’s subpoena of Garland. In response, the DOJ highlighted its “longstanding” position of not prosecuting executive branch officials who withhold information subject to executive privilege from Congress. However, Republicans argue that the claim isn’t valid since transcripts of the interviews, even in altered form, have already been given to lawmakers.
Hur’s documentation of Biden’s substantial loss of mental capacity has led many Americans – based on recent surveys – to believe that the president cannot serve another four-year term or even complete his current one. Hur’s 388-page report released in February explained that criminal charges were not levied against Biden, in part because jurors might view him as a “doddering, forgetful old man” incapable of criminal intent.
