CNN sues for recordings of President Biden’s interview in classified docs probe: report

04 April 2024

CNN filed a lawsuit against the Department of Justice Thursday in order to obtain recordings of President Joe Biden's interview with investigators regarding the now defunct probe into his mishandling of classified documents, the news outlet reports.

This comes almost exactly two months after special counsel Robert Hur released a special report, announcing his decision not to charge Biden over the mishandling of documents, and one month after transcript of investigators' interview with the president was released.

Hur — who was appointed by ex-President Donald Trump as a US Attorney — said that "no criminal charges are warranted in this matter," but in the report he "described Biden as a 'sympathetic, well-meaning elderly man with a poor memory,'" which the White House and many legal experts deemed unnecessary.

White House spokesperson Ian Sams blasted Hur's comments, saying, "The inappropriate criticisms of the President’s memory are inaccurate, gratuitous, and wrong."

Per the report, "The filing from CNN on Thursday outlined how the news organization requested the Justice Department make public audio and any video tapes pursuant to the Freedom of Information Act days after Hur’s report became public. Nearly a dozen other news outlets also have sought access to the recordings and may join the lawsuit, CNN’s filing said."

Last month, CNN’s Manu Raju posted excerpts from the network’s report on the transcript of the five-hour interview, "including one noting that President Biden 'told jokes and unfurled lengthy detailed stories from his decades-long political career as he parried questions from special counsel Robert Hur and his investigators over two days last October."

While the transcript was released by the DOJ in February, CNN notes the department also has recordings.

"Without access to any of the interview records, the press and public initially could not form their own conclusions about Hur’s characterization of Biden. … Transcripts, however, are no substitute for recordings," CNN lawyers wrote in the filing.

The news outlet notes, "While Congress has prompted some transparency around the special counsel’s work, several other organizations are suing in federal court in Washington, DC, for access to records from Hur’s office. Those lawsuits are still in early stages."

CNN's full report is here.

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