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.
The only other time I can remember the govt not demanding the source, was the DNC refusing to give the FBI access to their emails servers. The FBI never accepts being denied access to the evidence.
That too was a coverup of the Truth.
Nixon’s secretary erased tapes, it was a giant deal at the time.
I would surely vote for Trump just to see that Epstein list…
I want to see his DOJ go after every last one of these dildos that have led us to this moment. Both sides of the aisle, with some real and meaningful consequences.
Jonathan: Your column is just a regurgitation of the claims you made in a previous column. Nothing new. As I stated in my comment to your earlier column the OFFICIAL record–the transcript of Hur’s interview with Pres. Biden–is the only OFFICIAL record. No court would order the audio recording as a substitute. In all court proceedings the TRANSCRIPT is the OFFICAL record!
And there is another reason your argument falls apart.–and this involves the proceedings before Judge McAfee in Fulton County. All official court proceedings in Georgia courts are broadcast live. You have never argued the live broadcast is a better record. No even the defense attorneys in that case have argued that preposterous proposition. When making arguments or cross examining witnesses the parties have relied only on the OFFICIAL TRANSCRIPT. That’s the way it is in all court proceedings!
The “two Jims” are on a fishing expedition. Why? Because when they interviewed all the witnesses in their impeachment inquiry they used the OFFICIAL transcripts to attack the credibility of certain witnesses. They didn’t hold a hearing to play the video/audio versions of the interviews to try to back up their spurious claims. And you never argued at the time that those recorded interviews should be released. But now you and the “two Jims” suddenly think the audio of Bidens’ interview will add to the record. It won’t.
You are on a fools errand and naive to think “malicious actors” would not use AI to alter the audio tape to try to use “inaudible” responses by Biden to try to show he was lying or evasive in his answers–to “pass off an altered file as the true recording”. The supporters of DJT and you will do anything to try to keep the impeachment inquiry going when it should have ended months ago!
Right on. Unfortunately JT has become the king of obfuscation. And it appears to be working with the trump sycophants that prefer to be spoon fed lies rather than look things up for themselves. the Repo party has been turned into a trump cult. Sad, Very sad.
Not if a recording exists.
“No court would order the audio recording as a substitute. In all court proceedings the TRANSCRIPT is the OFFICAL record!”
Does this prove that Dennis is an idiot, or a pathological liar?
Could he possibly not be aware of the myriad of times a court has asked for the recording if it existed???
Wowsa, and he claims to have taken some law classes at night school…i doubt it.
Hey Dennis,
Who is lying about whether it was Hur or Biden that brought up Beau’s death?
Sincerely, who do you say is lying?
Hmmm . . .not a lawyer. . . But it seems to me that the reason Gur declined to prosecute Biden was NOT just the content (transcript). . .but also the delivery (the body language, speech patterns, etc). It appears to me your interest is in protecting Biden and the bureaucratic state behemoth. . . Have a great Sunday!
Dennis is either disingenuous or not a lawyer with pertinent experience. In every legal proceeding, both sides have a copy of both the written transcript and the audio/video recording. Many times the audio/video recording is played for the jury so they can observe the witnesses demeanor and responses. A 2 minute pause between a question and an answer demonstrating the witness trying to come up with an answer is not discernible from a transcript but is patently obvious when watching/listening to a video/audio recording. The transcript of the recording is part of the official record, but so to is the audio/video recording. The transcript is merely for convenience since it is much faster to point to page and line rather than try to cue up a tape. Further, the transcript is ordinarily prepared and certified by an unbiased third party.
I wouldn’t go around accusing others of not having anything original to say if I were you.
D M – a transcript may be “official” but is obviously not “original”. The first transcript is the opinion of the scrivener of what is said. That can be wrong. About 45 years ago, Wayne County Circuit Court had a court reporter who was so bad that convictions had to be set aside for lack of a record.
Even if the scrivener is accurate, the final transcript can be “messaged” by middle-men between the scrivener and the publisher. The Biden White House is known for “cleaning up” transcripts of Biden’s remarks. We cannot assume that a corrupt DOJ is beyond such misdeeds.
Finally, even if the transcript is a completely accurate reflection of Biden’s testimony, it is still true that written words miss the nuances of actual speech. Lack of credibility can be shown by hesitation, or breaking of the voice, or decline in volume, or mumbling, or prolixity (not shown in the transcript).
The very urgent question to be determined now is whether Biden can be trusted to carry out ON HIS OWN the duties of President. Is he “sharp as a tack” (as stated by Democratic partisons) or is he the mentally infirm old man implied by Hur. Our lives may lie in the balance of how this question is answered.
New George the Moron
You claim that Hur may have lied when he said biden was feeble.
The american people deserve to know who really brought up Beau’s death. If it was Hur, this could be prosecutorial misconduct.
Joe says it was Hur. He was adamant about it! Hur says it was Joe. If Joe is telling the truth, then the transcript is FALSE.
One of them is lying. Or is a doddering old man.
You dont care because you could stand next to the truth all day and deny it.
Chicken shit is what you are.
sic semper tyrannis.
“Bill Clinton allegedly raped a woman and traveled and partied with human trafficker Jeffrey Epstein.
Hillary Clinton stole classified records, trafficked weapons to Middle Eastern terrorists, and Fort Marcy Parked her political enemies.
Barack Obama droned an American citizen, trafficked guns to Mexican drug cartels who murdered Americans, and launched a coup against the U.S. after the 2016 election.
Joe Biden and his entire white trash family sold America out to Chinese, Russian, and Ukrainian oligarchs.
Now that the seal has been broken, every single one of these criminals should spend the rest of their days in prison.” @seanmdav
1000%
There can only be one reason that they would refuse to release the tape: the transcript is false.
It is – they already admitted to editing it.
They want to use the voice and manner in which he answered questions to show he’s a doddering old man.
——-New George the Moron
And there you have the reason George doesnt want them released.
First of all, full transparency for public officials begins at, not optional. From there begins the logical, rational, reasonable argumentation for withholding anything from the public.
The fact that the full transcript of Hur’s interviews with Biden have been released, is proof the usual reasons for non-disclosure have been eliminated. The deepfake argument became moot the moment the transcript was released. Could the audio and video be manipulated? No more than the transcript. And if the technology exists to manipulate audio/video files, then it certainly exists to detect it.
Lastly, Hur’s reasoning for not referring Biden for indictment and prosecution involves the language (words) and delivery from Biden. They are obligated to provide the full audio/video recordings that match the transcript.
Democrats keep telling us that no one is above the law. Now they need to prove it.
Retired administrative judge Grasso wrote an editorial about what a good job of managing his courtroom Judge Merchan did with the Trump trial. In The New York Times.
In New York City in seems that there are administrative judges to oversee the many judges in the boroughs.
Steaming turd^^^^
Oh look, a corrupt new york judge praise his disciple!!!
Can we get one lousy serious commenter from the left in here???
“It’s the [Matthew Colangelo coveted convictions], stupid!”
– James Carville
___________________
Matthew Colangelo
Manhattan District Attorney
New York County, New York
I notice words.
Managing the room, has nothing to do with rulings, in violation of the law and Constitution. A Judge providing pedantic cover for Merchan is noted, and dismissed, as twaddle.
This clown actually thinks that confirmation bias is a convincing argument. Who the f$^k is judge Grasso and who the f)%k cares what he/she/it thinks?
They got caught editing the transcript.
The audio tape is devastating.
Hur will be prosecuted for his role in this.
Johnathan – Don’t you recognize when the fix has been made? I’m from Chicago, Cook County, Illinois, the most corrupt city/county in the nation for decades. The Cook County judiciary is….., well let me put it this way, the husband of the last Chief Justice of the Illinois Supreme Court, a lawyer, is going to be sentenced for using his law license as part of an extortion and bribery bribery scheme later this month. Every judge now on the Cook County bench was put there by this extortionist lawyer or his wife of 40 years the Chief Justice. And every single one of them is a Democrat. The disease of corruption has spread from the Dem party controlled Cook County and its corrupt courts to infect the nation. The tapes will not be released because the fix is in, the law is irrelevant, the constitution a technicality, and they don’t care about the harm they do as long as they stay in power so they can continue to enrich themselves.
God wanted the people of Sodom and Gomorrah to die, so I am just like God when I want people to die.
“Vengeance is MINE,” sayeth the Lord. We are only even permitted to ask for forgiveness of our own sins as we forgive those who sin against us.
I wouldn’t mind dying by a meteor if I knew that a bunch of other people were dying, too. It would be quick and painless.
People are cruel and unfair creatures that don’t care about the bad things that happen to me, so I don’t care what happens to them.
The justification for Rober Hur’s declination of prosecution SCREAMS the 25th Amendment and the Biden Administration knows it. Just as Judge Merchan took care of any pesky little “defense issues” to convict President Trump, Merrick Garland will, once again, circle the wagons around Lunch Box, Truck Driver, I was arrested with Nelson Mandela, I marched with Dr. Martin Luther King, Joe to take care of this little audio tape disclosure problem. Not a problem Jonathan. And the mainstream media will obediently do as their told.
President Biden had others in the room to prove what was said and recorded. Can anyone prove what was said between Trump and Putin when they where alone with only Putin’s translation official? The United States has no recorded or written record of their conservations. Or Trump’s known habit of ripping up official papers. By the way, try finding another President who was all alone with a foreign leader without official notes being taken. Republicans would use President Biden’s voice the same way they tried to use the J6 video tapes, by distorting and deceiving the facts.
What a stunning comment. You are daft in your hate of Trump, you cannot even stay on topic as to the points Turley is making. Rome burns and you don’t even notice.
Dont bother
Fishysmell/sammy metamucil/wally/bob are all the same person. He does not come here to converse, only to drop his steaming turd and sit back and admire it.
He thinks he is clever when he is really just pathetic
You mean the way Congressional Democrats hand-picked footage to fit, as they admit, their “narrative?”
If people make me miserable, then they are the bad ones from my perspective. Their accounts can be balanced by experiencing some misery themselves.
Seems to us, the only person who makes you miserable is you.
It is not even noon, and I have water the livestock, two walks with the dogs, and a hearty breakfast to boot!
Today is a great day!
Do your dogs like peanut butter?
bunch of criminals since Carter
If Trump wins his DOJ should open investigations and, when even remotely plausible, bring indictments as follows:
1. Joe Biden, for classified documents and bribery re the Shokin firing;
2. Joe Biden and Mayorkas for human trafficking; Ken Paxton should bring this now under Texas state law;
3. Joe Biden, Blinken and 51 intelligence officers for fraud on the US re the laptop lie;
4. Joe Biden, Merrick Garland, Michael Colangelo, Alvin Bragg, Fani Willis, Jack Smith, Letitia James and Judges Engoran, Chutkan and Merchan for deprivation of rights under colour of law;
5. Hilary Clinton for classified documents, bribery through the Clinton Foundation and election violations through the Steele Dossier and Alfa scam; and
6. Comey, Brennan, McCabe and others for obstruction related offenses.
This is just the tip of the iceberg. If statutes of limitations are a problem, Congress should change them if possible, as NY did to enable the Carroll claim.
Unfortunately, the rules have now been changed.
Daniel,
Hear! Hear!
Daniel – that wall I referred to earlier has many slots open but they are filling fast. Your list is very helpful on listing the top offenders