Rep. Tom McClintock, R-Calif., told Newsmax on Friday that President Joe Biden's claim of executive privilege to retain the audio recordings of his interview with special counsel Robert Hur is "simply inapplicable" and ultimately might be struck down by the courts.
"The president has asserted executive privilege, which is a concept that goes back to the Washington administration and strikes at the heart of the separation of powers," McClintock said during an appearance on "Wake Up America."
"The deliberations of the president cannot be pierced by the Congress. That's not the case in this instance. In this instance, this was a conversation involving a criminal investigation. So, the claim of executive privilege is simply inapplicable and, in fact, it bears much more relationship to the Nixon tapes when the Nixon administration claimed executive privilege and was ultimately required by the court to release those tapes."
"We're involved in a very important inquiry," he said. "We've got two cases involving the handling of classified information that are being treated radically differently. As president, Donald Trump had absolute authority to declassify material at will; as vice president, Joe Biden did not. Under the Presidential Records Act, President Trump had absolute discretion to determine what papers to retain in the course of his presidency; as vice president, Joe Biden did not."
"Yet a decision was made, as a result of this interview, to prosecute Donald Trump, but not to prosecute Joe Biden," McClintock continued. "And that's at the heart of the matter. That tape is absolutely vital to get to the question of why two standards of justice and this is what the administration is refusing to turn over. Ultimately, I think it will be going to the courts."
When asked if Attorney General Merrick Garland is shielded from criminal liability for defying a congressional subpoena and refusing to release the recordings, McClintock said he is not shielded and mentioned former Trump officials who have been sentenced to prison for flouting subpoenas.
"I believe Steve Bannon and one other Trump official who resisted congressional subpoenas are in jail right now or going to jail for the very same thing," he said. "So, once again, we have two standards of justice: Merrick Garland can thumb his nose at an authorized congressional subpoena but Trump officials cannot."
The House Judiciary and Oversight committees voted to move forward with an effort to hold Garland in contempt of Congress hours after Biden blocked access to the audio recordings of his interview with Hur.
The panels voted to advance the contempt resolution Thursday afternoon.
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Nicole Weatherholtz ✉
Nicole Weatherholtz, a Newsmax general assignment reporter covers news, politics, and culture. She is a National Newspaper Association award-winning journalist.
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