President Joe Biden‘s assertion of executive privilege over special counsel Robert Hur’s audio recording of their classified documents interview sparked criticism from Republicans and legal experts after the president previously waived his privilege of the interview transcript.

A few hours before the House Judiciary Committee‘s hearing to hold Attorney General Merrick Garland in contempt over the audio, Biden’s counsel and the Department of Justice revealed the president had decided at the eleventh hour to claim executive privilege over the recordings, meaning Biden had asserted his right under the separation of powers to withhold the audio from Congress.