Columbia Standard

U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham (R-South Carolina), Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, led all Senate Judiciary Committee Republicans in urging U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland to release the audio recording of President Joe Biden’s interview with Special Counsel Robert Hur.

Special Counsel Hur’s report concluded that criminal charges against President Biden for mishandling highly classified information and “willfully retaining and disclosing classified information after his vice presidency” were not warranted, partly because a jury would perceive him as an “elderly man with a poor memory.”

The Senate Judiciary Committee Republicans wrote, "We, like our colleagues on the House Judiciary and House Oversight and Accountability Committees, believe the tapes are necessary to assist with the Committee’s constitutional oversight of the Department of Justice. Further, we urge you, in the strongest possible terms, to comply with the valid subpoena by the House Judiciary and House Oversight and Accountability Committees as the law requires. It is unacceptable that you, the chief law enforcement officer of the United States, are continuing to defy a lawful command of Congress and that you have been held in contempt of Congress."

They continued, "The American people deserve to be fully informed as to their President’s faculties, and there is every reason to believe that the President and his Administration have not been forthcoming on this issue. The threats to the United States are at an all-time high; red lights are blinking everywhere; and America cannot afford weak leadership… We strongly support our House colleagues in their pursuit of the recording and urge you to comply with the House subpoena. Further, we request that you immediately provide a copy of the recording to the Senate Judiciary Committee."

The letter was also signed by U.S. Senators Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), John Cornyn (R-Texas), Mike Lee (R-Utah), Ted Cruz (R-Texas), Josh Hawley (R-Missouri), Tom Cotton (R-Arkansas), John Kennedy (R-Louisiana), Thom Tillis (R-North Carolina), and Marsha Blackburn (R-Tennessee).

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