We have been discussing the dubious constitutional basis for President Joe Biden withholding the audio tapes of his interview with special counsel Robert Hur. I have previously written that the claim of privilege makes little sense when the transcript of the interview has already been released. It seems curious that Biden is claiming to be the president “who cannot be heard” in withholding the audio version. It just got wackier as the Justice Department seeks to create a new type of “Deepfake privilege” that would effectively blow away all existing limits on the use of the privilege when it comes to audio or visual records of a president.
Multiple committees are investigating Biden for possible impeachment and conducting oversight on the handling of the investigation into his retention and mishandling of classified material over decades. Classified documents were found in various locations where Biden lived or worked, including his garage. The mishandling of classified material is uncontestable. Broken boxes, unprotected areas and lack of tracking are all obvious from the photos.
Biden made the situation even worse with a disastrous press conference in which he attacked Hur and misrepresented his findings.
Hur’s ultimate conclusion that Biden’s diminished cognitive abilities would undermine any prosecution left many dumbfounded. After all, the man who is too feeble to prosecute is not only running a superpower with a massive nuclear arsenal but running for reelection to add four more years in office.
From impeachment to oversight to the 25th Amendment (allowing the removal of a president for incapacities), there are ample reasons for Congress to demand information and evidence from the government on these questions. Congress is also interested in looking at repeated omissions for “inaudible” statements. Under this sweeping theory that Biden can legitimately withhold these recordings under executive privilege, any president could withhold any evidence of incapacity or criminality.
As previously explained, the claim that the audiotape but not the transcript remains privileged is hard to square with precedent or logic. However, now the Justice Department appears to be pivoting with a new claim with a late Friday filing. The filing obtained by Politico states that the audiotape must be withheld due to the risk that it could be altered by artificial intelligence and passed off as authentic in a deepfake release: “The passage of time and advancements in audio, artificial intelligence, and ‘deep fake’ technologies only amplify concerns about malicious manipulation of audio files.”
Consider the implications of that argument for a second. It would mean that any visual or audio recording of the President could be withheld due to the danger of digital or other manipulation. It would eviscerate any existing limits on privilege assertions.
It is also absurd since you could create such fake recordings using the transcript and Biden’s voice from countless interviews through AI programs. The Justice Department acknowledges that obvious logical disconnect by noting that the release would make any fake version more credible.
“To be sure, other raw material to create a deepfake of President Biden’s voice is already available, but release of the audio recording presents unique risks: if it were public knowledge that the audio recording has been released, it becomes easier for malicious actors to pass off an altered file as the true recording,.”
The filing is logically and legally absurd. It is also dangerous.
For a president who is already carefully insulated from questions and controlled in public appearances, the argument would allow staff to completely control any public or, more importantly, congressional review of his actual speech and discourse.
In seeking to prevent “malicious actors” from altering reality, the government is claiming the right to frame reality as an inherent constitutional prerogative.
The argument ignores that, if an audiotape is released, it is harder to pass off a fake as genuine. As it stands, actors can claim tapes as leaked or derived from other sources. In the absence of an official tape, such arguments can be difficult to refute.
The fact that this spurious argument is being made by Merrick Garland’s Justice Department is another disappointing sign that he has abandoned his pledge to remain apolitical in office. This litigation is clearly designed for one overriding purpose: to delay any release until after the election when it cannot harm the President.
It is the legal version of a deepfake — misrepresenting the law to mislead citizens into believing that they are better off with less information on the credibility and competence of their president.
A few other points to consider. In medical malpractice cases, it is not unusual for them to be recorded on videotape and that is often what the court reporter will use to make sure the transcript of the deposition is correct. So yeah, I would want to see the full unedited recording of the deposition. There is so much more you can use in determining truth fullness if you actually see the person as they testify. You can see the squirm, the looking away, the eyes deflected down, a failure to meet you eye to eye, the hesitency of answering the question, an abrupt change in the speed of the answer and the demeanor of the subject, a sudden unsureness of the answer after a period of fast and quick answers, clearness of the speech. I think that’s one of the reasons that you have to appear in public in court to give testimony as a defendant, plaintiff, or witness. So the Jury or judge can see you and see the non verbal cues of the testimony. I mean that’s just basic facts.
I don’t just read the x-ray report because I also look at the x-ray.
As a physician, there are many things where you cannot see the source material, mainly lab. But everything you can see, you better see or you have failed your job. That was taught to me in early medical school and it’s saved my ass on many an occasion but even more important it saved my patient’s life.
I trained at a world class medical center as a resident and fellow for 5 years. We had superior radiologists. I saw a person , as a resident in my first year, who had hypertension and the evaluation included an IVP (an injected contrast medium was given IV to illuminate the kidneys which often are implicated in hypertension) The IVP was “normal” at an outlying clinic but I dutifully did what my professors had taught me and got the IVP films shipped to my office and waited about 1 week to get them. I pulled them out and immediately saw a major mistake. One kidney had its upper pole displaced by about 3 cm. Because of that we found an adrenal tumor because that is what sit’s atop the kidney and pushed it to the side.
This was followed by an immediate admission and evaluation and then surgery. We expected it to be benign but it was malignant yet had not spread and we saved the patients life and since she was in her 30’s that was a lot of life.
That does not make me brilliant or a genius because I was simply doing what my teachers told me to do and that saved my patient. My teachers got the credit from my point of view.
One other thing for you non-medical people. The medical record is a legal record from the start.
Most electronic medical records used these days give you a way to correct the electronic medical record if you make a mistake in your recording. However the record of the initial note, mistake and all, remains in the record permanently.
I wonder if they do that at the White House.
Why can’t children in restaurants just sit down, shut up, and eat their damned food like normal people, instead of whining and crying the whole time with a bunch of drama?
The quickest and easiest way to get the real audio tape is for someone to produce an incriminating fake. As the genuine fake tape gets aired, the WH will have to release the real one to counter it. Remember when Adam Schift started talking about Trump’s call to Zalensky and made all sorts of bogus claims? The rug was pulled out from under him when Trump surprised everyone and released the tape of the call that had none of what Shifty Schift said it contained.
JJC-excellent point. Bring out the AI machine
What stands out is that it’s not even disputed that Biden is cognitively impaired. So how can any reasonable person vote for him to run the country again? It makes no sense.
OldManFromKS,
Well said.
The audio would reaffirm that. That is why the WH admin and their corrupt DOJ is so desperate to keep it hidden.
So much for this WH admin bringing back “norms,” they campaigned on.
Whatever happened to, “You can go through our books. We open up everything for your inspection.”?
Could it be that Biden is using the Justice Dept. to influence an election?
Wow Kristen! I could have had a V8!
OT: Estovir, I understand that Nature finally removed an article the writers likely knew was false since it was said in private conversation; the writers had said the opposite to their study. It concerned COVID’s origin and demonstrated that many experts who knew better intentionally deceived the American public.
In the past, you mentioned that Nature was one of the best journals, and that is likely true. What do you know about this?
You are referring to:
Andersen, K.G., Rambaut, A., Lipkin, W.I., Holmes, E.C. and Garry, R.F., 2020. The proximal origin of SARS-CoV-2. Nature medicine, 26(4), pp.450-452.
which has been cited over 6500 times per Google scholar. Few papers get cited over 1000 times in 50 years, which tells us that the Nature paper has gotten an inordinate amount of attention in less than 4 years.
Vinay Prasad has covered the fraud committee by Francis Collins as director of NIH and I suspect the Nature paper authors believed they had to tow the line or else face ruin. Their incredulity as expressed privately about their yet to be published piece tells us they published a piece against their conscience. Im not sure their career has anywhere to to except downward
Nature is a large publishing outfit of scores of medical journals
https://www.nature.com/siteindex
some of which I read and cite in my own research: Cardiovascular Research, Cellular & Molecular Immunology, Genetics journals are some of the best in those specialties.
‘Caught-Red-Handed’: Scientists Call for Full Retraction of Nature’s Proximal Origin Paper, as Fraud Accusations Mount
https://www.aier.org/article/caught-red-handed-scientists-call-for-full-retraction-of-natures-proximal-origin-paper-as-fraud-accusations-mount/
The above is an excellent review of the Nature article you reference. I side with them but that doesnt mean we researchers should now seek to be published by Breitbart, NY Post, Just the News or CNN. You have to publish where are audience exists
Oooof. Talk about atrocious errors. My apologies. I was multitasking
Re: my comments on the fraud committed (not committee) by Francis Collins, Vinay is meticulous in reviewing the record. Good stuff.
Francis Collins admits to major errors and lies to the House subcommittee
“NIH funded gain of function research and 6 ft distancing ruined kids education and had no evidence to support it.”
MAY 17, 2024
https://www.drvinayprasad.com/p/francis-collins-admits-to-major-errors
Thank you, Estovir, for the citations and your comments. This information demonstrates a total cover-up by the government, respected researchers, and one of the most respected names, Nature; there wasn’t a lot of talk about it, and how this proves the Biden administration is capable and likely lying about those things that can remove them from power.
I can’t date when medical journals started their deep decline, but it was noticeable during the Clinton administration. Of course, you are correct that a researcher requires a venue to publish. The only solution is for the research community to blacken the name of anyone involved in that type of action. Fallacious research seems to be endemic in climate change, education, etc.
The leftists are like Bison jumping off the cliff following one another, and I fear they are pulling everyone else with them.
Kristin,
In word, yep.
The upside it all us normal people see right through it.
“I don’t want to hear elected Republicans complaining. I don’t need to see their tweets and statements condemning the verdict. The only thing I want to hear from these people is which Democrats they will have arrested. Don’t tell us that you’re sad about the verdict. We don’t give a shlt about your feelings. We want to see corrupt Democrats frog marched on camera in handcuffs. If you won’t do that, then shut up.” @MattWalshBlog
Notice that George the Moron doesnt bother to explain why a voice recording of the Presidents own words are somehow a cheap shot.
Could it be that George is also afraid of what those recordings will reveal about the commander in chief, who needs permission to call on a reporter at a press conference and will “get in trouble” if he messes it up? Maybe no ice cream for Joe before his 2:00 nap?
Wait, wait, don’t tell me: 51 intelligence officials will issue a letter stating that the audiotapes “ha[ve] the classic earmarks” of Russian “malicious actors.” That will work. For a while.
Thank you, Professor Turley, for Sunday morning education and insight – and a sardonic chuckle at DOJ’s latest antics.
Bottom line if he consistently screws up reading off a teleprompter or cue cards you can only imagine how bad that recording must sound? Here’s an opportunity for them show Americans how cognitively stable he is. Recall how the Dem propaganda outlets would interview pseudo psychologists claiming President Trump had mental issues without ever interviewing him?
Where are they now?
We still have never seen Gen Flynn’s, original 302. It was edited 3 times. The last by people not present at the interview.
Yes the DoJ, has a history of altering documents.
DoJ toady, Clinesmith changed the meaning of an email, used as evidence securing a FISA Warrant.
Yes the source document is required.
What does logic or precedent have to do with anything with this administration? The only logic or precedent is that the democrats want one party rule, which is the next phase of totalitarianism.
“. . . the audiotape must be withheld . . .”
This really is absurd, especially for attorneys. (How many absurdities are we up to now?)
Anyone who’s ever been involved in a legal case (criminal or civil) knows the meaning and importance of the “Original-Document Rule.”
Professor Turley states, “The filing [by Biden’s Justice Dept and administration] obtained by Politico states [states] that the audiotape must be withheld due to the risk that it could be altered by artificial intelligence and passed off as authentic in a deepfake release.”
The longer that this audiotape is withheld and kept within the custody of the Biden administration, the more possible that the risk runs both ways….(e.g., of AI or other manipulation/alteration)….
Someone transcribed (and put in print) the words from the audio. Does that transcription match the audio? Yes, I think we deserve to hear how the president answered. If we are worried about AI now, what is going to happen in the future? Who can we trust?
Humans deserve to be struck by a meteor.
A significant meteor strike could possibly lead to a massive die off of all living things.
Might the world be a better place if people like you who wants to see nuclear destruction and now a meteor strike killing millions of living creatures, not just humans, were to get struck by a small meteor?
Defense lawyers across the US are celebrating today.
The US DoJ just impugned EVERY piece of video evidence that will ever be used at any trial going forward.
If he is too delusional to stand in court, he is too delusional for the most important job in the United States. PERIOD!!!
In the new Reich Cream-Puff Presidency the Deep-State will insure that the Citizen will: hear no evil, see no evil, speak no evil
I thought POLITICO.com was the quintessential deepfake voice of Artificial Intelligence
Dum dum George the Moron concludes that the DOJ timed their motion perfectly to coincide with the Trump verdict, to ease the pain and suffering of the Trump cult.
Serious question…has there ever been a dumber commenter here? Think about that before you answer, there have been and still are some really dumb ones.
George is like a male Gigi. He even likes to make up terms like “willful denial”.
Defense lawyers ALL OVER the US are celebrating this day. ALL video evidence from this day forward has been impugned as a deep fake by the Justice Department of the United States.