Republicans want to hear shielded interview tapes of Biden. Here’s what we know about the recordings

ABC news ^ | July 10, 2024 | Mike Levine

[jerod]

GOP lawmakers want the interview tapes from Robert Hur's documents probe.

Republican lawmakers say the Biden administration is refusing to release a set of audio recordings that could help settle the debate over whether President Joe Biden's faltering performance at last month's presidential debate was just a one-off "bad night," as he has repeatedly claimed.

"We all know why they don't want to turn over the audio because it will ... show exactly what we all saw on the debate stage a couple weeks ago," House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-Louisiana, told reporters on Tuesday. "That is something they want to cover up."

The recordings capture Biden's two-day interview last October with then-special counsel Robert Hur, who ultimately concluded that while Biden improperly retained classified documents, he shouldn't be charged with any crimes because -- unlike former president Donald Trump, who was indicted for allegedly hoarding hundreds of classified documents and then trying to cover it up -- Biden cooperated with investigators and would likely convince a jury that he made "an innocent mistake." Trump, meanwhile, has denied all charges.

Nearly two years ago, caches of classified documents from Biden's time in the Obama administration and the Senate were found in his Delaware home and in private offices elsewhere, prompting Hur's probe.

In his recorded interview with investigators, Biden appeared to be a "well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory," and that's how he would likely appear to a jury, Hur wrote in his final report...

[packrat35]

It was obvious to anyone who has had a relative or loved one with dementia, that Joe Biden has had dementia since BEFORE he was elected.

[ding_dong_daddy_from_dumas]

If a GOP POTUS became demented, and an interview demonstrated it, Dems would demand it to use in campaign videos or sound bytes. And yes, the GOP would play the Biden audio in campaign videos and messages.

But suppose the Biden audio isn't as bad as the GOP hopes? The public might imagine it was worse than it really is.