Trump Administration Eyes Release Of Hur Interview Blocked By Biden

The Trump administration is making plans to release the audio of former President Joe Biden’s interview with Robert Hur, the special counsel who investigated Biden’s handling of classified documents and raised questions about his mental acuity, according to two Republicans briefed by top Trump officials.

The details of the plan are in flux and it is not clear whether President Donald Trump and his advisers have made a final decision to make the audio public.

Biden’s camp is girding for the possible release, said two people familiar with the former president’s preparations and granted anonymity to speak freely.

A deadline of sorts is approaching on May 20: In separate Freedom of Information Act lawsuits brought by conservative groups like Judicial Watch and the Heritage Foundation and various news organizations, the Justice Department has been ordered by a judge to say whether it will stand by Biden's assertion of executive privilege to block the release of the tapes. Last May, Biden and his Justice Department claimed releasing the tapes would have a chilling effect on witnesses cooperating in high-profile investigations.

DOJ officials will also have to indicate whether they will continue to press other arguments for keeping the audio secret, including that disclosure would invade Biden's privacy and that it could interfere with future investigations by making high-level officials less willing to cooperate.

The White House declined to comment.

The recordings — which Hur said at the time revealed Biden as a “well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory” — have long been sought by Trump’s Republican allies.

“The Hur audio will confirm what is one of the biggest cover ups in American history,” Mike Davis, a key outside Trump ally and an occasional adviser, told POLITICO.

Some Hill Republicans said they haven’t yet heard about concrete plans for the release of the tapes. The House Judiciary Committee sued to obtain them last year in a lawsuit that has been lingering without action since Trump took office.

While transcripts were released in the case, the audio has been a source of intense controversy since Hur last year issued his report concluding he would not bring criminal charges against Biden. The former president said at the time that he did not break the law in his handling of classified documents and insisted his “memory is fine.”

Kyle Cheney and Josh Gerstein contributed to this report.