### Trump Officials to Release Audio of Biden Interview Amid GOP Pressure

In a significant move, officials linked to the Trump administration are poised to publicly release audio recordings of an interview between President Joseph R. Biden Jr. and Special Counsel Robert K. Hur, who probed Biden's handling of classified documents. The release could occur as early as next week, according to sources familiar with the situation.

President Biden was scrutinized by Hur during a 2023 interview at the White House concerning classified documents found at his former office and home after his tenure in the Obama administration. While Hur ultimately decided not to pursue charges, citing Biden's sympathetic image as an elderly man with a poor memory, the transcript was made public in 2024.

A partial audio excerpt, uploaded on Friday by Axios, features Biden speaking softly and grappling to recall the death year of his son and his departure from the White House. This has fueled Republican claims that the audio might evidence a decline in Biden's cognitive abilities, which they have been pressing for the government to release for over a year.

Despite releasing a transcript of the interview a year ago, the Biden administration withheld the audio, citing executive privilege and potential complications in securing future witness cooperation for prosecutors. Trump-era officials, however, plan to counter these reasons by releasing the recording.

The Trump administration faces a court-imposed deadline next week to declare their stance on the matter, further intensifying the situation. Hur's comprehensive 345-page report last year concluded that Biden had been careless with classified information but lacked sufficient grounds to press charges. Nevertheless, the report's depiction of Biden as possessing a poor memory sparked outrage among Democrats and fortified Republican demands for greater transparency about the president's mental faculties.

The incident underscores the enduring partisan tensions surrounding Biden's health and competence in office, as his aides and party leaders continue to manage the narrative leading into potential re-election efforts.