CNN's Tapper calls out Biden DOJ for withholding Hur tapes: 'No basis'

CNN anchor Jake Tapper criticized the U.S. Department of Justice on Wednesday for withholding audio tapes of Special Counsel Robert Hur’s interview with President Biden from Congress, saying there was "no basis" for doing so.

Tapper disputed Rep. Dan Goldman, D-N.Y., after he argued that Republican lawmakers holding Attorney General Merrick Garland in contempt of Congress for not releasing the audio was simply an effort to politically damage Biden and boost former President Trump.

"But there’s really no basis for the Justice Department to not give the audio recordings to Congress either," Tapper told Goldman in a CNN clip flagged by The Daily Caller. 

BIDEN ASSERTS EXECUTIVE PRIVILEGE OVER RECORDINGS FROM CLASSIFIED DOCUMENTS PROBE

CNN's Jake Tapper grills Rep. Dan Goldman, D-N.Y., for defending the Department of Justice withholding audio of Special Counsel Robert Hur's interview with President Biden. (Screenshot/CNN)

The discussion happened after months of drama involving the Hur report, the published findings of the DOJ special counsel appointed to investigate Biden for alleged improper handling of classified documents.

The report caused a political firestorm for the Biden administration when it concluded there was evidence that Biden mishandled the documents but declined to recommend charges against the president because of his advanced age and flagging mental acuity. 

The official report prompted renewed concerns about Biden’s age and cognitive function, even from mainline liberal outlets like The New York Times, which has since clashed with the White House over his media access.

Despite transcripts of Hur’s Biden interview being made public, the DOJ has refused to release audio from it, arguing in a court filing earlier this month that "advancements in audio, artificial intelligence, and ‘deep fake’ technologies" could be a threat to the integrity of the clip and a potential point of misinformation for the public. 

The Republican-led House voted to hold Garland in contempt of Congress this week for continuing to withhold the transcript.

In their CNN interview Wednesday, Goldman trashed lawmakers for how they’re handling Garland.

"It’s a very disappointing day, and it’s another effort by the Republican Party to dig a deeper hole for this institution," he said. "Contempt of Congress is a very serious charge, and we know from the Peter Navarro, Steve Bannon cases, those are situations where witnesses are subpoenaed and absolutely blow off various committees, provide no documents, no information."

BIDEN, NOT SPECIAL COUNSEL HUR, BROUGHT UP SON'S DEATH IN QUESTIONING

Special Counsel Robert Hur's report on his interviews of President Biden over his handling of classified documents created a political firestorm earlier this year. (Getty Images)

He went on to say the Trump administration did the same thing when Congress asked for documents in Trump’s first impeachment investigation. 

Goldman argued the DOJ providing transcripts of the Biden-Hur interview is enough.

"There is no legitimate legislative purpose for them to obtain the audio recording because they’re not prosecuting him, they’re not trying to determine whether to prosecute him, and there’s no legislation they can identify, there’s no oversight they can identify that points to why they need the audio recording," he said.

"And what they really want to do is release it to help Donald Trump misconstrue these recordings, use them during the campaign, and this is not a legitimate purpose," he declared, also noting that the DOJ has gone "beyond the call of duty" in its cooperation with Congress so far. 

Tapper noted three of the past five attorneys general have been found in contempt of Congress, adding a "citizen who doesn’t have a dog in the fight might say, ‘it seems to me as though the legislative branch is trying to do oversight of the executive branch and the executive branch keeps giving — whoever’s in charge of Congress — the executive branch consistently gives the finger to the House.’"

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