Interview with special prosecutor regarding confidential documents points out “problems with memory”… A wave of waves
Democratic Party releases after editing certain sections… Republicans want the full dialogue to be open
US President Joe Biden’s suspicion of leaking confidential information while handling classified White House documents has been largely resolved through voluntary cooperation with the special prosecutor in the investigation and, in particular, long-term talks with special prosecutor Robert Huh, but the demand for full disclosure of the special prosecutor’s report has not been resolved. It’s getting stronger.
As Special Prosecutor Robert Huh released part of the report from a five-hour long conversation with the special prosecutor, new attention was focused on his old age and memory. Currently, supporters and political opponents of both Democratic and Republican parties are pressuring the full disclosure of the contents of the special prosecutor’s report.
Of course, this request was made because both sides believed that there would be political benefits from releasing the special prosecutor’s report.
President Biden was investigated on charges of keeping sensitive information documents in his personal home and office since his time as vice president, but most of the charges were resolved.
However, Special Prosecutor Robert Huh’s report repeatedly pointed out the president’s memory decline in his private sphere. For example, he pointed out that Biden doesn’t even remember when his son Beau died.
Accordingly, it is argued that if the special prosecutor’s report is fully made public, all of the more accurate details of the conversation with the President will be confirmed.
It is entirely up to the White House whether to release the entire transcript of this conversation or to keep the conversation secret by claiming presidential immunity. But there is precedent for both cases.
When former President Bill Clinton underwent a grand jury hearing in 1998 on charges of inappropriate sexual conduct with former intern Monica Lewinsky, Special Counsel Ken Starr’s extensive report, which included the case, was sent to the House of Representatives. In the end, it was released to the public after a vote by lawmakers.
At the time, Special Counsel Starr’s team had a heated debate over how much of the report to release, given its sensitive and personal nature, said Robert Wittman, who participated as a prosecutor in the investigation at the time.
He recalled that the special prosecutor team at the time eventually decided not to make it public and handed over the report, agreeing to “pass all information to Congress so that members of Congress can decide on their own.”
However, on the contrary, President George W. Bush exercised his immunity and refused to disclose the details of special counsel Patrick Fitzgerald’s investigation into the 2004 disclosure of the identity of CIA informant Valerie Plame.
In relation to this, President Bush used his privilege to block the release of the contents of the special counsel’s report on other high-ranking officials, including then-Vice President Dick Cheney.
Former prosecutor Wittman said he thought that disclosing the special prosecutor’s investigation report to the public was “not necessarily a good thing.”
However, regarding the leakage of some of the contents of the Special Prosecutor Robert Huh’s report, “It would be better to make all the conversations between President Biden and the Special Prosecutor public so that the public can find out whether the content revealed by the Special Prosecutor that President Biden remembered some things and did not remember others is true.” He expressed the opinion, “It would be advantageous to allow people to make their own decisions.”
The White House is still carefully considering whether to make it public or not.
The contents of Biden’s special counsel report are classified as national secrets because of the private issues they contain. To make it public, the White House must decide, or the Justice Department must request permission from the congressional audit body. Both require similar legal procedures.
If you decide to make the interview public, you will need to send sensitive and confidential information to intelligence agencies to declassify them, and decide whether any parts need to be edited and how.
Ultimately, the White House will seek advice from the Justice Department’s Judiciary Committee to decide whether President Biden will use his immunity to keep the information private or order it to be fully disclosed to the public.
The special prosecutor’s interview in question was conducted over two days in late October at a time when the Hamas-Israel war was expanding. Special Prosecutor Heo and Prosecutor Mark Rickbaum from Iowa, who were appointed by former President Trump, were in charge of all questions, and the head of the investigation team, Richard Sauber, was present.
President Biden’s side included White House Counsel Ed Siskel and the President’s personal lawyer Bob Bauer.
In addition, an anonymous informant related to the special prosecutor’s interview told the Associated Press that there were several other people from both sides in the room where the investigation was conducted.
The Republican Party also expressed its intention to attend with Special Prosecutor Heo’s testimony to Congress in mind, and Special Prosecutor Heo expressed his willingness to attend, said a related informant who also requested anonymity.
Democratic and Republican figures want the contents of the special counsel’s report to be disclosed in more detail in addition to what has been revealed so far.
Biden’s supporters believe that only then can they reveal that the president is still mentally sharp and that Special Prosecutor Heo distorted some of the answers to highlight Biden’s old age. At the same time, Biden’s lawyers are concerned that Attorney General Merrick Garland will reveal the entire contents of the special counsel’s conversation.
[워싱턴= AP/뉴시스]
Source: Donga
Mark Jones is a world traveler and journalist for News Rebeat. With a curious mind and a love of adventure, Mark brings a unique perspective to the latest global events and provides in-depth and thought-provoking coverage of the world at large.