The White House has recently asserted executive privilege to block access to tapes of President Joe Biden’s interview with special counsel Robert Hur. The Heritage Foundation, a conservative think-tank, has filed an emergency motion in a Washington court to speed up the release of these audio tapes. The motion seeks to modify the court’s briefing schedule for pending Freedom of Information Act lawsuits related to the tapes. The Heritage Foundation argues that the Department of Justice did not need as much time as claimed to prepare its response to the FOIA requests.
House Republicans are seeking the tapes to verify assertions made by Mr. Hur during President Biden’s interview. The tapes are at the center of a dispute between House Republicans and Attorney General Merrick Garland, who faces contempt proceedings for defying a subpoena for the tapes. The Department of Justice has until May 31 to submit filings in support of withholding the tapes, but Heritage attorneys want this schedule modified to speed up the court battle.
Democrats argue that Republicans want to use the tapes in campaign ads to portray President Biden negatively. Meanwhile, Mr. Hur revealed in testimony that White House officials tried to soften his report’s characterizations of President Biden’s memory. The White House has not responded to requests for comment on the matter.
President Biden’s counsel has defended the assertion of executive privilege over the tapes, citing the potential impact on future investigations. Despite this, House committees have voted to hold Mr. Garland in contempt, and Heritage attorneys argue that this adds to the urgency of releasing the tapes. It remains to be seen whether the House will pass a resolution to bring this matter to the Justice Department. House Speaker Mike Johnson has criticized efforts to block the release of the tapes, stating that President Biden seems afraid for the public to hear them. Please rephrase.
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