Stefanik & Comer Seek New Information in Investigation into the White House’s Revision of Biden’s “Garbage” Remarks

WASHINGTON-House Republican Conference Chairwoman Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.) and Committee on Oversight and Accountability Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.) are continuing their investigation into the Biden-Harris White House's creation of a false transcript that revised President Joe Biden's remarks, in which he referred to President Trump's supporters as "garbage." A recent report reveals that while White House stenographers submitted an accurate transcript to the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), the White House Press Office publicly released a false transcript after conferring with President Biden.

Earlier this week, Stefanik and Comer demanded that the Biden-Harris White House retain and preserve all documents and internal communications related to President Biden's statement and the release of the false transcript. They also called for the issuance of a corrected transcript containing the accurate wording. Today, Stefanik and Comer are calling on the White House to produce all documents and internal communications regarding President Biden's statement and the release of the inaccurate transcript; release the accurate version of the transcript the White House Stenographers submitted to NARA; and immediately make available the White House Stenography Office's top supervisor for a briefing to the Oversight Committee.

Below are excerpts from the letter sent to White House Counsel Edward Siskel. The full letter can be found here.

"The White House cannot simply rewrite President Biden's rhetoric. In this case, it appears the White House is doing so to safeguard Vice President Harris's presidential campaign. Recent reporting has since revealed 'White House press officials altered the official transcript.' Meanwhile, White House stenographers already submitted an accurate version-a version different than the White House publicly released-to the U.S. National Archives and Records Administration (NARA). The reporting also noted that a government official called the actions of the White House 'a breach of protocol and spoliation of transcript integrity between the Stenography and Press Offices.' Most notably, the report reveals the change in protocol came after the White House Press Office 'conferred with the President.' That President Biden himself may have interfered to break protocol to hide his outrageous remarks is unprecedented.

[…]

"We are concerned with the latest reporting of the White House's apparent political decision to protect the Biden-Harris Administration, instead of following longstanding and proper protocols.

[…]

"We question whether the White House's decision to create a false transcript and manipulate or alter the accurate transcript that was produced to NARA may be in violation of federal law, including the Presidential Records Act of 1978."