UPDATE: The House Judiciary Committee just voted to hold Attorney General Merrick Garland in contempt of Congress for failing to provide the lawfully subpoenaed audio tapes of Special Counsel Robert Hur’s interview of President Biden.

Quick Hit:

The White House has invoked executive privilege to block the release of audio and video from President Joe Biden's interview with Special Counsel Robert Hur, claiming potential misuse for political purposes. The move comes as House Republicans prepare to hold Attorney General Merrick Garland in contempt of Congress over the refusal to hand over the files.

Key Details:

• The White House argues that Republicans in Congress only want the recordings to use them for political purposes, with the dispute over access to the recordings central to a Republican effort to hold Attorney General Merrick Garland in contempt of Congress.
• Garland has advised Biden that the audio falls within the scope of executive privilege, which protects a president's ability to obtain candid counsel from his advisers without fear of immediate public disclosure.
• Real Clear investigative journalist Julie Kelly however tweeted, "Joe Biden repeatedly denied Trump’s claims of privilege in authorizing NARA to turn over presidential records to Congress. Biden claimed Congress’ investigation into Jan 6 “insurrection” outweighed presidential privilege claims...So now House GOP has a framework of recent case law to challenge Biden’s privilege claims related to denying Congress the recording of his interview with Robert Hur—by using Biden’s own words."

Diving Deeper:

White House counsel Ed Siskel, in a letter to House Republicans, claimed a supposed absence of legitimate need for the audio recordings. Siskel further added that demanding such sensitive and constitutionally-protected law enforcement materials from the Executive Branch for potential political gain is inappropriate.

Attorney General Merrick Garland, in a separate letter to President Biden, advised that the audio falls within the scope of executive privilege. This privilege protects a president's ability to obtain candid counsel from his advisers without fear of immediate public disclosure and to protect confidential communications relating to official responsibilities. Garland argued that the lawmakers' needs are insufficient to outweigh the negative effects that the production of the recordings would have on the integrity and effectiveness of similar law enforcement investigations in the future.

The White House's decision to block the release of the audio recordings comes amid concerns over how potentially embarrassing moments from the lengthy interview could be exacerbated by the release, or selective release, of the audio. The transcript of the interview showed Biden struggling to recall some dates and occasionally confusing some details, including the year when his son Beau died.