ABC, AP, CBS, NBC all join Heritage, Judicial Watch in FOIA request for DOJ to release Biden's special counsel interview

A large group of news outlets have joined with Judicial Watch and the Heritage Foundation to sue Biden’s Department of Justice for the release of the audio of special counsel Robert Hur’s interview with Joe Biden in the investigation into classified documents found at the president’s residence and office. 

Among those suing the department under the Freedom of Information Act for the release are ABC News, the Associated Press, Bloomberg, CBS News, CNN, The Wall Street Journal, Business Insider, NBC News, Reuters, Univision, and the Washington Post. 

The outlets are seeking all audio and video recordings of Hur’s five-hour interview with Biden. Biden has asserted executive privilege over the recordings. 

"These recordings will help the public evaluate Hur’s decision not to charge Biden and to close the investigation into classified documents found at Biden’s former office and private residence," the suit stated. 

"In particular, they will shed light on Hur’s controversial characterization of Biden as an 'elderly man with a poor memory,' which Hur claimed would make it 'difficult to convince a jury that they should convict him.’" 

The outlets wrote that Hur’s description of Biden "caught the attention of the public and the White House alike," but "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. 

They said that the release of the transcript "has made it possible for the press and public to somewhat assess Hur’s description of Biden for themselves," but transcripts are "no substitute for recordings, which reveal 'intonations, hesitancies, inflection, and voice of tone.'" 

"Those qualities amount to 'a substantial part of the real record,' which is completely 'lost to public scrutiny' when only a transcript is released." 

The suit notes that the parties filed individual FOIA requests with the Department of Justice for the recordings between February 16 and April 1, 2024, with the parties being told that the request falls within "unusual circumstances" and the DOJ needed to "extend the time limit" to respond to the parties’ requests. 

"To date, DOJ has not informed any of the Press Coalition plaintiffs as to the scope of the records, if any, that the agency will produce in response to the Press Coalition’s Requests," the suit states. "To date, DOJ has not provided a timetable for the production of any records in response to the Press Coalition’s Requests." 

"Pursuant to FOIA, DOJ was required to make and communicate to the Press Coalition plaintiffs a 'determination' on their Requests no later than twenty working days after the Requests were submitted." 

"Even with the ten additional working days that FOIA provides for agencies to respond in 'unusual circumstances,’" the DOJ "was required to make and communicate to the Press Coalition plaintiffs a 'determination' on their requests within thirty working days. That deadline has passed with respect to each of the Requests." 

The media outlets’ suit is being combined with FOIA suits filed by Judicial Watch and the Heritage Foundation. Judicial Watch filed their suit on March 11, and Heritage filed theirs in January.  

Media Outlets FOIA Lawsuit DOJ by Hannah Nightingale on Scribd