Justice Department rebuked for delay tactics in Biden-Hur tapes pursuant to judge's order

The Justice Department faced criticism on Friday for pushing back on a federal court's order to expedite the timeline for determining whether recordings of President Biden's interviews with then-Special Counsel Robert Hur should be released.

The situation developed after advocacy groups filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request for the recording last month.

The Heritage Foundation's Oversight Project, as well as Judicial Watch and CNN, all filed requests seeking the release of the tapes, which congressional Republicans have sought and unsuccessfully subpoenaed. The three organizations' FOIA requests were combined into one suit.

In April, the DOJ announced it would not abide by a subpoena from House Republicans, while maintaining its cooperation with Congress' Biden family investigation has been "extraordinary." That development led Reps. James Comer, R-Ky., and Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, to threaten Attorney General Merrick Garland with a contempt of Congress citation.

However, Washington, D.C.'s U.S. District Court ruled this week there would be an expedited briefing schedule to litigate the release of the tapes, which Republicans claim will further prove Biden's cognitive decline and lack of fitness for office.

HOUSE REPUBLICANS SUBPOENA DOJ MATERIALS RELATED TO SPECIAL COUNSEL HUR INTERVIEW WITH BIDEN

Kyle Brosnan, an attorney and chief counsel for the Oversight Project, called the Justice Department's arguments for what he said was originally roughly an August briefing schedule "absurd," telling Fox News Digital on Friday that it is in the public interest to have the tapes released promptly.

While the Oversight Project, Judicial Watch and CNN had their FOIA suits merged, Brosnan said each plaintiff can continue to