Executive Privilege

House Judiciary Committee v. Garland

Major Issue:  Whether a House committee may secure judicial enforcement of subpoenas to the U.S. Department of Justice seeking audio recordings related to Special Counsel Robert Hur’s investigation of President Biden’s mishandling of classified documents. 

Case Status:  Complete.

Case Description: The House Judiciary Committee complaint stated that the subpoenas to DOJ were part of its broader impeachment inquiry against President Biden. The subpoenas sought audio recordings of Special Counsel Hur’s interviews of President Biden and Mark Zwonitzer, the ghostwriter who assisted the president with his 2017 memoir. DOJ provided the Judiciary Committee with transcripts of both sets of recordings, copies of which were also released to the public. The Committee asserted, however, that the audio recordings would provide critical additional evidence essential to understanding what was said. In contrast, DOJ contended that the recordings were unnecessary in light of the written transcripts, releasing them could make individuals more reluctant to provide interviews in the future, and the recordings themselves could be misused, which is why President Biden asserted executive privilege over them.

Procedural Posture: On July 1, 2024, the House Judiciary Committee filed the complaint and requested an injunction ordering production of the audio recordings. D.C. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson was assigned to Case No. 1:24-cv-01911. On July 12, 2024, the House committee filed a motion for preliminary injunction or, in the alternative, for summary judgment. On August 6, 2024, the DOJ filed a cross motion for summary judgment. On August 16 and 29, 2024, the parties filed additional briefs related to their cross motions for summary judgment. On October 28, 2024, the court held a hearing regarding the motions for preliminary injunction and summary judgment. However, the incoming Trump Administration changed course, abandoned the executive privilege claim, and posted the audio tapes on DOJ’s FOIA reading room website. The House Judiciary Committee and DOJ entered into a joint stipulation on May 21, 2025 dismissing the case with prejudice.

On July 1, 2024, House Judiciary Committee filed its complaint to enforce its subpoenas to the Department of Justice (DOJ) for certain audio recordings related the Special Counsel Robert Hur’s investigation of President Biden’s mishandling of classified documents. Case No. 1:24-cv-01911 was assigned to D.C. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson. On July 12, 2024, the House committee filed a motion for preliminary injunction or, in the alternative, for summary judgment. On August 6, 2024, the DOJ filed a cross motion for summary judgment. On August 16 and 29, 2024, the parties filed additional briefs related to their cross motions for summary judgment. On October 28, 2024, District Judge Jackson held a hearing on the cross motions for summary judgment, and the transcript was filed on October 29, 2024. Subsequently, on May 21, 2025, the House Judiciary Committee and DOJ entered into a joint stipulation voluntarily dismissing the case.

No proceedings to date.

No proceedings to date.