The Department of Justice is refusing to release audio recordings of former Special Counsel Robert Hur’s interview with President Joe Biden to House Republicans.

According to the New York Post, in late February, House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer (R-Ky) and Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) subpoenaed audio files related to the Biden investigation.

Last month, Comer and Jordan threatened to hold Attorney General Merrick Garland in contempt of Congress if the DOJ fails to produce the records. They gave Garland until Monday, April 8, as the compliance deadline.

Fox News reports that the DoJ met the deadline but explained in a letter to the lawmakers why it would not turn over the audio recordings.

“The Department is concerned that the Committees’ particular focus on continuing to demand information that is cumulative of information we already gave you,” Assistant Attorney General Carlos Uriarte wrote on behalf of the DoJ. “What the President and Mr. Hur’s team said in the interview that the Committees’ interests may not be in receiving information in service of legitimate oversight or investigatory functions, but to serve political purposes that should have no role in the treatment of law enforcement files.”

Comer responded to the letter late Monday, saying the Biden administration does not get to determine what Congress needs and does not need for its oversight of the executive branch.

Comer also added that his committee will continue to work with the Judiciary Committee to obtain the information needed for their investigation of Biden’s willful retention of classified documents.

Meanwhile, Comer and Jordan subpoenaed Mark Zwonitzer, an American author, to hand over everything related to his ghostwriting work, Biden’s memoirs “Promise Me, Dad” and “Promises to Keep, including emails, call logs and more.

The subpoena also compels Zwonitzer to turn over all contracts and agreements related to his work, audio recordings of interviews and conversations with Biden and transcripts of those conversations and interviews.

However, Robert Hur, a former US attorney for the District of Maryland appointed by Trump, completed his term as special counsel in early February after submitting his findings about Biden’s handling of classified material.

According to Hur’s report, Biden would read classified notes from national security meetings to Zwonitzer almost word for word. 

Hur also described Biden as a sympathetic, well-meaning elderly man with a poor memory. This has sparked numerous reactions to Biden’s reelection campaign in 2024.