House Republicans Subpoena Transcript of Biden Interview with Special Counsel That Fueled Age Concerns
(AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
House Republicans have issued a subpoena for the transcript of the interview that Special Counsel Robert Hur conducted with Joe Biden during his investigation into Biden’s improper retention and disclosure of classified documents after his term as vice president.
Earlier this month, Hur released a report explaining that while Biden had willfully retained such documents, his team “concluded that no criminal charges are warranted in this matter.”
To help explain that decision, Hur speculated that a jury would find Biden to be “a sympathetic, well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory.”
According to the special counsel, Biden could not recall whether he was “still vice president” in 2009, his very first year serving in the capacity, or 2013, the first year of his second term during their conversation. Hur also alleged that Biden could “not remember, even within several years, when his son Beau died.”
While Biden has expressed outrage over the fact that Hur asked about Beau Biden, subsequent reporting has indicated that it was the president who raised the subject.
The subpoena for the transcript of the Biden-Hur interview is coming from House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer (R-KY) and Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan (R-OH).
Comer and Jordan had previously requested that the Department of Justice produce the transcript and been told that it was still reviewing it in order to weed out classified information and details that might violate confidentiality interests.
“On February 16, the Department responded, failing to produce any of the requested material and stating instead that it was ‘working to gather and process’ responsive documents,” wrote Comer and Jordan in a letter addressed to Attorney General Merrick Garland and reviewed by the Washington Examiner. “The Department, however, offered no timeframe by which it expected to make any productions or, indeed, any commitment that it would produce all of the material requested.”
Hur will testify before Jordan’s Judiciary Committee on March 12.
