House Republicans filed a federal lawsuit Monday against Attorney General Merrick B. Garland, asking a judge to compel him to turn over audio recordings of meetings between the special counsel and President Biden that have raised questions about his age and memory.
The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in Washington on behalf of the House Judiciary Committee, seeks audio recordings of interviews that special counsel Robert K. Hur conducted with Biden and ghostwriter Mark Zwonitzer as part of his investigation into the president's handling of classified materials.
In his February report, Hoare did not recommend criminal charges, but he described Biden as a “well-intentioned but elderly man with a weak memory” and someone whose “abilities have declined with age,” raising concerns about how fit Biden, now 81, is for the job.
The House Republicans' lawsuit came just days after Mr. Biden's halting performance in a televised presidential debate with former President Donald J. Trump, in which he slurred his responses, repeatedly lost his train of thought and struggled to get his campaign message across, raising new questions about whether he should continue in the campaign.
The Justice Department provided the Judiciary Committee with transcripts of the interviews but not the audio.
“Failure to require the production of the audio recordings would unduly impede the Committee's ability to exercise its constitutionally delegated oversight and impeachment functions,” House General Counsel Matthew B. Berry wrote in the complaint.
Garland has resisted turning over the recordings, arguing that releasing them could set a precedent that jeopardizes the confidentiality of other law enforcement investigations. Democrats also argue that Republicans have no legitimate legislative purpose in seeking the audio, and simply want to use the edited clips to embarrass Biden in campaign ads.
Biden last month asserted executive privilege to deny House Republicans access to the recordings.
Hoare's report said it would be difficult to convince a jury that Biden knew he mishandled documents because his memory was so hazy during five hours of questioning over two days when the president was 80. If the president is indicted, Hoare predicted in his report that his defense team “will likely emphasize the limitations of his memory.”
Republicans have grown increasingly frustrated that they have not been able to obtain the recordings as part of their lengthy impeachment investigation into Biden.
Republicans voted last month to sue Garland for contempt of Congress for failing to comply with a House subpoena, threatening the attorney general, but the Justice Department said it would not prosecute its leaders, prompting Republicans to strategize other ways to target Garland.
Republican Rep. Anna Paulina Luna of Florida is pushing for an immediate vote to accuse Garland of “substantial contempt of the House of Representatives,” a move that, if successful, would direct House protocol clerks to arrest the attorney general, but it's not clear whether Republicans have the votes for that.
House Republican leaders also said they want to wait and see first whether a lawsuit would be successful in obtaining the recordings.
Garland has accused House Republicans of launching politically motivated attacks on the Justice Department in retaliation for the prosecution of Trump.
Garland in May voiced opposition to “an unprecedented and frankly baseless series of attacks on the Department of Justice,” including Republican efforts to defund the special counsel prosecuting Trump.
The Justice Department said Monday it was reviewing the lawsuit and would respond in court.