The Justice Department on Wednesday sought to deny a request by CNN and conservative watchdog groups to access the audio recordings of President Biden‘s interview with special counsel Robert Hur over his handling of classified documents.
In a six-page filing, Justice Department lawyers disputed claims that they have run afoul of the Freedom of Information Act or other federal laws that would require them to release the recording.
“CNN is not entitled to any documents or information exempt from disclosure under the FOIA. Defendants actions did not violate the FOI or any other statutory or regulatory provision,” wrote Brian M. Boyton, principal deputy assistant attorney general for the Justice Department’s Civil Division.
Mr. Boynton didn’t offer any legal reasoning in support of his statements.
The Justice Department‘s response comes two days after a federal judge in the District of Columbia ordered it to expedite briefings in the case to determine if the audio footage should be released.
CNN, the Heritage Foundation and Judicial Watch each filed lawsuits that were later consolidated into a single lawsuit.
Mr. Hur‘s interview with the president in October is one of the most hotly debated parts of his investigation into Mr. Biden‘s handling of classified documents.
The report concluded there wasn’t enough evidence to charge Mr. Biden with criminal mishandling of records after he left the vice presidency. However, it depicts Mr. Biden as “a sympathetic, well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory.” Mr. Hur said a jury would likely not convict the president of mishandling documents because of his faulty memory.
The report states that during Mr. Biden‘s interview with special counsel investigators, he couldn’t recall when his son Beau died or events from his time as vice president.
The Justice Department has released transcripts of Mr. Biden‘s interview after the Hur report was made public, but not the audio recordings that are in its possession.
Mr. Hur, who has since resigned from the Justice Department, spoke about the importance of the audio recording during a recent congressional hearing. He said the recordings are evidence that helped shape his decision not to charge Mr. Biden.
The interview is the only time in history that a sitting president sat down with a prosecutor mulling potential criminal charges against him.
CNN and the watchdog organizations say the recordings are necessary so the press and public can form their own conclusions of Mr. Hur‘s characterization of Mr. Biden.
“The Department of Justice is acting as President Biden‘s personal lawyer by unlawfully refusing to turn over the audio tape of Biden‘s interview with Hur. It must be a bad interview for Biden and is likely related to why he has shattered the presidential tradition of giving legitimate interviews,” said Mike Howell, executive director of the Oversight Project at the Heritage Foundation.