Justice Department says it is not releasing Biden-Hur audio due to 'deepfake' concerns

The Department of Justice pushed back on the releasing of the audio tapes of special counsel Robert Hur's interview with President Joe Biden, citing "deep fake" concerns.

The DOJ stated that if the audio tapes were released, they could potentially be altered by artificial intelligence and passed off as authentic.

“The passage of time and advancements in audio, artificial intelligence, and ‘deep fake’ technologies only amplify concerns about malicious manipulation of audio files,” a Friday filing obtained by Politico states.  

“To be sure, other raw material to create a deepfake of President Biden’s voice is already available, but release of the audio recording presents unique risks: if it were public knowledge that the audio recording has been released, it becomes easier for malicious actors to pass off an altered file as the true recording,” the filing continued. 

According to the Heritage Foundation's Oversight Project, the Friday DOJ filing is an acknowledgment that the White House admitted they altered evidence to make Biden appear less incompetent. "This case has been blown wide open," they wrote on the social media platform, X. 

According to The Hill, the Biden administration's concerns about A.I. come from experts and observers who are concerned about deep fakes. 

DOJ officials said that the audio being made public “would harm substantial privacy interests.”