Committee Chairman Jim Jordan has formally asked Mark Zwonitzer to provide all audio recordings and transcripts he has of conversations with President Biden.
The House Judiciary Committee on Wednesday demanded the ghostwriter of President Joe Bidenâs memoir to hand over any recordings and notes from his conversations during their collaboration.
In a letter sent via email, Committee Chairman Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) formally asked Mark Zwonitzer to provide the committee with any remaining audio recordings and transcripts he has of conversations with President Biden.
Mr. Zwonitzer, the ghostwriter who helped President Biden write âPromise Me, Dadâ and âPromises to Keep,â deleted some recordings and materials from his computer once he learned of the probe but was ultimately not charged.
The materials include ânotebooks containing Mr. Bidenâs handwritten entries about issues of national security and foreign policy implicating sensitive intelligence sources and methods.â These were used to help Mr. Zwonitzer put together the memoir.
President Biden condemned statements in the report about his poor memory and mental faculties, while also denying parts related to sharing classified information with his ghostwriter.
âIâve seen the headlines since the report was released about my willful retention of documents. These assertions are not only misleading, theyâre just plain wrong,â President Biden said at a press briefing following the release of the report.
âI did not share classified information. I did not share it,â the president said at the time, with respect to his collaboration with Mr. Zwonitzer.
Biden Read Notes From Classified Meetings: Report
Mr. Jordan questioned the accuracy of the presidentâs denial in his letter to Mr. Zwonitzer, citing the special counselâs report.
The special counsel said President Biden often read passages aloud ânearly verbatimâ from notebooks to Mr. Zwonitzer, including on three occasions when President Biden shared passages dealing with classified information with Mr. Zwonitzer. The notebooks were kept during his time in office as vice president.

âMr. Biden should have known that by reading his unfiltered notes about classified meetings in the Situation Room, he risked sharing classified information with his ghostwriter. But the evidence does not show that when Mr. Biden shared the specific passages with his ghostwriter, Mr. Biden knew the passages were classified and intended to share classified information,â Mr. Hur wrote in the report.
Citing the report, Mr. Jordan said the special counsel referenced âaudio recordingsâ and âtranscriptsâ of the ghostwriterâs conversations with President Biden related to the memoirs. The Ohio Republican said the presidentâs statements of denial âseemingly contradicted material factsâ in the special counselâs report.
He requested communications, contracts, payment records, audio recordings, and transcripts of conversations related to Mr. Zwonitzerâs ghostwriting work on President Bidenâs memoirs. Additionally, the committee asked for materials referencing or relating to Mr. Hurâs investigation.
The letter also urged Mr. Zwonitzer to appear for a transcribed interview with the committee about the matter.
He was given a deadline to produce the requested documents and schedule the interview by 5 p.m. on Feb. 23.
It is unclear to what extent Mr. Zwonitzer is able to comply with the demand to hand over the material to the House committee.
According to the special counsel, the ghostwriter deleted the audio recordings from his computer once the investigation into the president was announced.
Mr. Hur said his office considered charging Mr. Zwonitzer with obstruction of justice for this. However, because the ghostwriter offered âplausible, innocent reasonsâ for his actions and has cooperated with investigators, it would be unlikely to âobtain a conviction.â
On Monday, House Republicans on the Judiciary and two other powerful panels requested transcripts and tapes of President Joe Bidenâs interview with Mr. Hurâs office after his report found the president had âwillfullyâ retained classified documents.
In the Feb. 12 letter to Attorney General Merrick Garland, the chairmen of the GOP House Committees asked for a âtranscript and any other records of this interview, including, but not limited to, any recordings, notes, or summaries of the interview.â
House Oversight Chair James Comer (R-Ky.), House Ways and Means Chair Jason Smith (R-Mo.), and Mr. Jordan said the records are required for âinvestigatory purposes.â
This request was part of the Judiciary Committeeâs âongoing oversight of the Departmentâs commitment to impartial justice and its handling of the investigation and prosecution of President Bidenâs presumptive opponent, Donald J. Trump, in the November 2024 presidential election,â according to the letter.
Original News Source Link – Epoch Times
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