Special Counsel Robert Hur appeared before the House Judiciary Committee on Tuesday, answering questions about his investigation into President Biden’s mishandling of classified records.
Hur released his final report in early February, saying the investigation “uncovered evidence that President Biden willfully retained and disclosed classified materials after his vice presidency,” including classified documents about military and foreign policy in Afghanistan and other countries, which Hur said implicated “sensitive intelligence sources and methods.”
Despite his finding that Biden’s actions “present serious risks to national security,” Hur declined to criminally charge Biden arguing that the 81-year-old president could portray himself as an “elderly man with a poor memory,” which would be sympathetic to a jury. The final report described Biden’s memory as “hazy,” “fuzzy,” “faulty,” “poor” and having “significant limitations.” Even more troubling, the report said Biden could not recall when he was vice president or “even within several years when his son Beau died.”
Hur defended his investigation, the final report, and his treatment of Biden’s age in his opening statement.
“My team and I conducted a thorough, independent investigation,” he said. “We identified evidence that the President willfully retained classified materials after the end of his vice presidency when he was a private citizen.”
“This evidence included an audio-recorded conversation during which Mr. Biden told his ghostwriter that he had ‘just found all the classified stuff downstairs,'” Hur continued. “When Mr. Biden said this, he was a private citizen speaking to his ghostwriter in his private rental home in Virginia. We also identified other recorded conversations during which Mr. Biden read classified information aloud to his ghostwriter.”
BREAKING IN WASHINGTON: Special Counsel Robert Hur crucifies Joe Biden, says he did not try to disparage the president unfairly but painted an accurate description of his failing memory; he also willfully retained classified material and shared it with his ghostwriter. WATCH pic.twitter.com/1qfsAgERMh
— Simon Ateba (@simonateba) March 12, 2024
“We did not, however, identify evidence that rose to the level of proof beyond a reasonable doubt,” Hur explained. “Because the evidence fell short of that standard, I declined to recommend criminal charges against Mr. Biden. The Department’s regulations required me to write a confidential report explaining my decision to the Attorney General. I understood that my explanation about this case had to include rigorous, detailed, and thorough analysis.”
On the issue of Biden’s age and memory, Hur put the onus on the president.
“The evidence and the President himself put his memory squarely at issue,” he said. “We interviewed the President and asked him about his recorded statement, ‘I just found all the classified stuff downstairs.’ He told us that he didn’t remember saying that to his ghostwriter. He also said he didn’t remember finding any classified material in his home after his vice presidency. And he didn’t remember anything about how classified documents about Afghanistan made their way into his garage.”
“My assessment in the report about the relevance of the President’s memory was necessary and accurate and fair,” Hur insisted. “Most importantly, what I wrote is what I believe the evidence shows, and what I expect jurors would perceive and believe. I did not sanitize my explanation. Nor did I disparage the President unfairly.”
Biden pushed back after the report was released and insisted his “memory is fine.” He went so far as to declare that he is the “most qualified person in this country to be president.”
The president also tried to play the role of victim after Hur suggested he did not remember when his son Beau died — this would eventually blow up in his face, though with far less media fanfare than his grieving father schtick.
“How dare he raise that?” Biden said after the report was released. “Frankly, when I was asked a question, I thought to myself, what’s that any of your d— business?”
“Let me tell you something… I swear, since the day he died, every single day… I wear the rosary he got from Our Lady –” he added, stopping mid-sentence because he appeared to forget where the rosary was from.
A week after the report was released, two sources familiar with the investigation said it was Biden who brought up Beau’s death in the interview – not the special counsel, Fox News reported.
The network noted that House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., and House Ways & Means Committee Chairman Jason Smith, R-Mo., have demanded the Justice Department turn over the transcript and any recordings of Hur’s interview with Biden — the GOP leaders are heading up the impeachment inquiry against Biden.
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Tom Tillison grew up in Maryland before moving to Central Florida as a young teen. It is in the Sunshine State that he honed both his passion for politics and his writing skills. Tillison also contributes to BizPac Review.
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