Biden’s botched TV debate reignites calls for audio recordings of special prosecutor Rob Hur’s interview in which he appeared ‘old and aged’

Joe Biden’s disastrous debate performance has reignited calls for the Justice Department to release recordings of his interview with the special counsel, who called the president an “older” man with a “poor memory.”

The recordings of that infamous interview have been requested by GOP lawmakers scrutinizing the commander in chief’s competence.

Instead of giving the tapes to lawmakers, the Justice Department provided a transcript of the interview, prompting the GOP to vote last month to hold Attorney General Merrick Garland in contempt of Congress for “concealing” the requested documents.

Republicans say only the tapes will provide more damning evidence of the president’s diminished cognitive abilities, which were in the spotlight during the first presidential debate.

“That’s why they don’t want Congress to have this audio tape,” Rep. Byron Donalds, Republican of Florida, told reporters last week after Biden’s age became the central issue of the debate.

“If it’s the same thing, then why is audio sacred when anyone can get a transcript? asked Donalds.

“Watching tonight, this is exactly why the American people should hear audio of Robert Hur during his interview with Joe Biden.”

Republicans have been demanding the audio recording for months, since the Justice Department’s report was released in early February.

However, the White House invoked executive privilege over the audio tapes, preventing the Justice Department from turning them over.

During the interview, special counsel Robert Hur said Biden did not remember the dates of his son Beau’s death and other key moments in his life and work as vice president.

Attorney General Merrick Garland received scorn from Republicans for his repeated refusal to release the audio.

His withholding of the recordings prompted Republican lawmakers to hold the top law enforcement official in contempt of Congress.

In doing so, GOP members forwarded the recommendation for contempt charges against Garland to his Justice Department, and the department will likely ignore their request to initiate proceedings against the agency boss.

As a result, Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, R-Fla., concocted a different plan to try to force Garland to comply by filing an “inherent contempt resolution,” which would order Congress’s top security officer, the sergeant-at-arms, to arrest the attorney general.

But Republicans are hesitant to go so far as to put the resolution to a vote.

Luna said the inherent contempt charge would get a vote Friday, but that didn’t happen. She later said she would work with House leadership on a path forward for the measure.

On Monday, the text of his resolution for inherent contempt was released, stating that instead of asking the sergeant at arms to arrest Garland, he would instead be fined $10,000 per day.

It is not known when the resolution will be voted on in the House.

Either way, the GOP has yet another plan to try to get its hands on the audio tapes.

“President Biden showed last night that he is weak, unfortunately, that he is weak,” Speaker Mike Johnson, a Los Angeles Democrat, said Friday after the debate.

“He will most likely sound exactly on this tape as he did on stage last night and that is embarrassing for the president.”

Johnson said Friday that Republicans would take steps to obtain the tapes by suing the DOJ for their release.

He said the complaint would be filed on Monday.

Responding to Johnson’s threat, the DOJ asserted that Garland had not broken the law.