The Justice Department can’t release President Biden’s interview with special counsel Robert Hull because of the threat of potential deepfakes, the Justice Department argued in a court filing Friday.
The filing is part of a legal challenge against Biden’s exercise of executive privilege over the recordings to keep them from public knowledge. The Justice Department acknowledged in a Friday filing that there is enough public information to create artificial intelligence deepfakes of Biden and Hull, but it said releasing the actual recordings would make it more difficult to refute any false versions.
“The passage of time and advances in audio, artificial intelligence, and ‘deepfake’ technology have only heightened concerns about malicious manipulation of audio files. If an audio recording were posted here, it is easy to foresee that it could be inappropriately altered and modified. Documents can be passed off as authentic recordings and distributed widely,” the department wrote.
Deputy Attorney General Bradley Weinsheimer wrote in the filing that releasing the tape would “make it more likely that malicious actors will pass off deepfake recordings as authentic.”
Biden claims executive privilege over classified documents investigation records
The U.S. Justice Department says it cannot release President Biden’s interview with special counsel Robert Hull because of the potential threat of deepfakes. (Ting Shen/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
The Biden administration is facing numerous efforts from conservative legal groups and House Republicans to force the release of the information. The U.S. Department of Justice has released transcripts of interviews that reveal multiple embarrassing moments from the president.
Biden mentioned son’s death during questioning, not special adviser Hull
Biden met with Hull for about five hours last year, during which he was asked about his handling of classified documents.
A report released by Hull earlier this year declared Biden a forgetful old man with a good heart. The report highlights several instances where Biden was unable to recall key details from his life, including the time he served as vice president and the year his son Beau Biden died.
The Democratic National Committee is paying lawyers to represent President Biden as he is investigated over special counsel Robert Hull’s possession of classified documents. (Getty Images)
Biden was outraged by the report and later uncovered several false statements in the interview. For example, he claimed that Hoole raised the topic of Beau’s death, even though the transcript showed Biden had already raised the topic.
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“President Biden is clearly concerned that citizens and everyone in this country will hear these tapes,” House Speaker Mike Johnsonthe Louisiana Republican said after Biden asserted his privilege over the recording. “They clearly corroborate the special counsel’s findings and, in his estimation, may so alarm the American people that the president is using the full power of his power to suppress their release.”
Biden was angry that Hull’s report described him as mentally incompetent and senile. (Hannah Bell/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
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Some Republicans have speculated that the interview transcript may be inconsistent with the news, saying it may have been edited to avoid embarrassing Biden. Weinsheimer denied the claims in a filing Friday and said only minor adjustments were made to the transcript, such as removing repeated words and filler words.
