Audio of President Joe Biden's testimony to special counsel Robert Hur could be made public if the Heritage Foundation is successful in its lawsuit, the Washington Examiner reported. The conservative organization joined forces with CNN and Judicial Watch in a legal bid to release the audio of the interview.
After the interview with the president, Hur concluded that he would not go any further in the case against Biden over mishandled classified documents. Hur called Biden an "elderly man with a poor memory" when he decided not to prosecute despite the evidence.
The White House has refused to release the audio, citing executive privilege. The Justice Department has backed up this claim, explaining that the transcript is sufficient.
However, due to Hur's conclusion after the interview, many believe it's imperative to hear exactly what led him to that determination. It's likely so damaging that the White House will do anything to keep it from being heard by the voting public.
According to the transcripts, Biden had trouble remembering basic biographical details, such as when his term as vice president ended or when his son Beau Biden died. Still, the audio of it may be particularly damaging to Biden's image and his hopes for a 2024 reelection.
"The transcript only has the words in it. It doesn’t have the ‘uhs’ and ‘ums,'” Sam Dewey, an attorney for Heritage, pointed out during a call with reporters Wednesday.
"You, as reporters, know those types of pauses can often indicate someone’s thinking," Dewey added. Voters hearing Biden stumble over his words and have trouble with recall could be the death knell for his campaign.
Although Biden has so far been successful in keeping the recording from the public, Heritage Oversight Project Executive Director Mike Howell believes it's only a matter of time. "I expect the tape is coming out one way or the other, and that will be because of this lawsuit," Howell said.
"But the Biden administration would have some flexibility as to how they, politically, wanted to play that," he added. Howell believes the administration might leak the audio to a friendly news outlet if it seems it's inevitable anyway.
The lawsuit has become the only remedy as the administration and its allies continue to stonewall efforts to release the interview tape. Among the most powerful to block the release has been Attorney General Merrick Garland.
During a Congressional hearing Tuesday, Garland doubled down on the decision to keep the audio under wraps. "The Supreme Court has said that in order to protect the separation of powers under the Constitution, the Congress has to have a legitimate legislative purpose for the things that it’s requesting," Garland said to North Dakota GOP Rep. Kelly Armstrong.
"I understand why you’d rather see the audio, hear the audio than read the transcript. But I still do not understand a legislative purpose," Garland said.
"I can’t see how listening to the audio will make any difference with respect to any legislation you have in mind," he added. While it's true that Republicans have no formal explanation, none is necessary when they're not the ones keeping something from the American people.
Even on his best days, it's clear that Biden's brain is age-addled and his speech garbled which means this must be damaging for the president. If there were nothing to hide, Garland and other Biden allies wouldn't be working so hard to keep it under wraps.
