President Biden has asserted executive privilege to deny House Republicans access to recordings of his interview with a special counsel investigating his handling of government documents, Justice Department officials and the White House counsel said on Thursday.
The move is intended to shield Attorney General Merrick B. Garland from prosecution if House Republicans succeed in their effort to hold him in contempt for refusing to turn over audio of Mr. Biden’s conversations with the special counsel, Robert K. Hur.
The move is certain to draw the ire of former President Donald J. Trump and his allies, but it is in keeping with the practice of his administration and that of his predecessor, President Barack Obama.
The Justice Department cited executive privilege in opting not to pursue charges against two of Mr. Garland’s predecessors when they were held in contempt: Eric H. Holder Jr., a Democrat, in 2012 and William P. Barr, a Republican, in 2020.
“It is the longstanding position of the executive branch held by administrations of both parties that an official who asserts the president’s claim of executive privilege cannot be prosecuted for criminal contempt of Congress,” Carlos F. Uriarte, the assistant attorney general for legislative affairs, wrote in a letter to Representative Jim Jordan of Ohio, who leads the House Judiciary Committee, and Representative James R. Comer of Kentucky, who leads the Oversight Committee.
Persons:
Biden, General Merrick B, Garland, Robert K, Hur, Donald J, Trump, Barack Obama, Eric H, Holder Jr, William P, Barr, ” Carlos F, Jim Jordan of, James R, Comer
Organizations:
Justice Department, White, Republicans, The, Democrat, Republican, Committee
Locations:
Jim Jordan of Ohio, Comer of Kentucky