The Justice Department cannot release audio from President Biden’s interview with Special Counsel Robert Hur due to the threat of potential deepfakes, the DOJ argued in a Friday court filing.
This filing is part of a legal challenge against Biden’s efforts to exercise executive privilege over the recording to keep it from the public. As reported by Fox News, The DOJ acknowledged that there is already enough public audio available to create AI deepfakes of both Biden and Hur, but stated that releasing the true recording would make it more difficult to disprove any false versions.
“The passage of time and advancements in audio, artificial intelligence, and ‘deep fake’ technologies only amplify concerns about malicious manipulation of audio files. If the audio recording is released here, it is easy to foresee that it could be improperly altered and that the altered file could be passed off as an authentic recording and widely distributed,” the department wrote.
Associate Deputy Attorney General Bradley Weinsheimer emphasized that releasing the tape would “make it far more likely that malicious actors could pass off a deep fake as the authentic recording.” told by The Hill
Biden’s administration is facing numerous efforts from conservative legal groups and House Republicans to force the release of the audio. The DOJ has already released a transcript of the interview, which revealed multiple embarrassing moments for the president.
Biden met with Hur for about five hours last year, during which he was questioned about his handling of classified documents. Hur’s report, released earlier this year, described Biden as a forgetful but well-meaning elderly man. The report by Politico highlighted several instances where Biden could not recall key details about his life, including his tenure as vice president and the year of his son Beau Biden’s death.
Biden was outraged at the report and subsequently made several false statements regarding his interview. For instance, he claimed that Hur brought up the topic of Beau’s death, despite the transcript showing that Biden had initiated the topic.
“President Biden is apparently afraid for the citizens of this country and everyone to hear those tapes,” House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., said after Biden exerted privilege over the recording. “They obviously confirm what the special counsel has found, and would likely cause, I suppose, in his estimation, such alarm with the American people that the president is using all of his power to suppress their release.”
Some Republicans have speculated that the transcript of the interview may not align with the audio, suggesting it may have been edited to prevent embarrassing Biden. Weinsheimer rejected those claims in Friday’s filing, stating that only minor adjustments were made to the transcript, such as removing repeated words and filler words.
