Biden blocks publication of audios of his interviews with special counsel

President Biden asserted his executive privilege to deny House Republicans access to recordings of his interview with special counsel Robert Hur, who investigated his mishandling of government documents.

The measure is intended to protect Attorney General Merrick Garland from prosecution if lawmakers were successful in their effort to find him guilty of contempt for refusing to turn over the audios. Garland, this Thursday, accused the Republicans.

The measure drew the ire of former President Donald Trump and his allies, but is in line with the actions of previous governments.

Republicans are eager to release the recordings, which could provide damaging evidence of prosecutor Hur’s characterization of the president as an “old man with a bad memory” and material for the Trump campaign.

The president of the House of Representatives, Republican Mike Johnson, accused Biden of repression by blocking the recordings.

Republicans say the audio is necessary to resolve possible discrepancies between the transcript and the recording of the interview between Hur and Biden. while Democrats say this request is just an abuse of power.