House Republicans have launched an investigation into the White House’s handling of a comment by President Joe Biden, in which he referred to Trump supporters as “garbage.” The GOP claims that the White House issued an altered transcript of Biden’s words, which could constitute a violation of federal law.
House GOP Conference Chairwoman Elise Stefanik (R-NY) and Oversight Chairman James Comer (R-KY) initiated the investigation with a letter to White House Counsel Edward Siskel. In it, they argue that the White House manipulated Biden’s words to soften his divisive language, an act they say could violate the Presidential Records Act.
“No one is above the law, not even the President of the United States” – Kamala
The White House just broke the law by altering the transcript of Biden’s garbage comment.
.@KamalaHarris I assume you will call for an investigation and prosecute those responsible, right? pic.twitter.com/evg0no2TaB
— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) November 1, 2024
The controversy arose after Biden, at a Latino voting event, reportedly described Trump supporters as “garbage.” Video evidence shows Biden saying, “The only garbage I see floating out there is his supporters.” However, the official transcript presented by the White House reportedly altered this to, “The only garbage I see floating out there is his supporter’s — his — his demonization of Latinos,” which Republicans say attempts to misrepresent Biden’s statement.
Stefanik and Comer contend that such an alteration misleads the public and undermines transparency. “White House staff cannot rewrite the words of the President of the United States,” they stated, calling for all related records to be preserved and an accurate transcript to be released.
Journalist Michael Shellenberger voiced concerns about the legality of altering a presidential transcript, emphasizing that the change “makes no sense” and appears to ignore federal guidelines on record-keeping.
This investigation comes as Republicans increase their scrutiny of the Biden administration’s transparency, particularly regarding statements they view as inflammatory or misleading. The White House has not yet issued a public response to the GOP’s claims.
