A U.S. prosecutor said on Tuesday that his investigation of President Biden over his handling of classified documents didn’t clear the president of suspicion despite not charging him. Joe Biden Former U.S. Special Counsel Hur faced tough questions from the Republican-led House of Representatives Judiciary Committee, which has been part of the impeachment inquiry into the 81-year-old Democratic president. Robert Hur Hur – who was appointed as the former top federal prosecutor in Maryland by Biden’s predecessor and election rival, Donald Trump – said he “did not exonerate” the president and mentioned that the investigation revealed evidence of Biden knowingly withholding secret documents after leaving the vice presidency in 2017.
Hur defended his mention of Biden’s memory, stating that the president’s state of mind was relevant to whether he committed a crime. Republican Hur stated that his assessment in the report about the relevance of the president’s memory was necessary and accurate and fair as he explained to the attorney general his decision and the reasons for it.
White House spokesperson Ian Sams pushed back on Hur’s remarks, indicating that his testimony highlighted why the special counsel did not bring criminal charges.
Some Democrats argued that Hur’s discussion of Biden’s memory was unnecessary and inappropriate, while Representative Adam Schiff suggested that Hur was aware his analysis would have a “maximal political impact.”
Reuters/Ipsos polling shows that almost four in five Americans, including a large majority of Democrats, believe Biden is too old to work in government. A little more than half of respondents said that of Trump, 77.
Hur said politics played no part in his report, which drew anger from the White House after he released it last month.
Hur’s interview with Biden, conducted last October as Biden grappled with the fallout from Hamas’s Oct. 7 assault on Israel, showed the president brought up the issue of his memory first.
Hur stated that the transcript indicated Biden gave freewheeling answers to many of Hur’s questions but had difficulty recalling certain details, including when he left the vice presidency.
Hur appeared before Congress the week after Biden made a fiery State of the Union speech that signaled an aggressive start to the Democratic president’s reelection campaign against Trump.
Hur’s report pointed out differences between the Biden and Trump documents cases, including alleged acts of obstruction by Trump, but Republican lawmakers accused prosecutors of a double standard.
“Joe Biden broke the law but because he’s an forgetful elderly man who would seem sympathetic to a jury, Mr. Hur decided not to bring charges,” said Republican Representative Jim Jordan, the House Judiciary committee’s chair.
Biden, the oldest person to serve as U.S. president, criticized the characterization in public comments after the report’s release, stating his memory was fine, and Vice President Kamala Harris labeled the report politically motivated.
Hur was chosen as a U.S. attorney by Trump and appointed special counsel by Biden’s Attorney General Merrick Garland after Biden’s documents were found. His appointment ended on Monday, the department noted.
–Reporting by Makini Brice and Andrew Goudsward; Editing by Scott Malone, Jonathan Oatis and Alistair Bell
U.S. special counsel Robert Hur observed that the investigation uncovered evidence that Biden knowingly kept confidential documents after leaving the vice presidency in 2017.
Hur appeared before Congress the week after Biden made a fiery State of the Union speech that signaled an aggressive start to the Democratic president’s reelection campaign against Trump.
Hur’s report cited distinctions between the Biden and Trump documents cases, including alleged acts of obstruction by Trump, but Republican lawmakers accused prosecutors of a double standard.
“Joe Biden broke the law but because he’s a forgetful old man who would appear sympathetic to a jury, Mr. Hur chose not to bring charges,” said Republican Representative Jim Jordan, the House Judiciary committee’s chair.
Biden, the oldest person to serve as U.S. president, lashed out against the characterization in public remarks after the report’s release, saying his memory was fine, and Vice President Kamala Harris called the report politically motivated.
Hur was appointed as a U.S. attorney by Trump and made special counsel by Biden’s Attorney General Merrick Garland after Biden’s documents surfaced. His appointment ended on Monday, the department said.
–Reporting by Makini Brice and Andrew Goudsward; Editing by Scott Malone, Jonathan Oatis and Alistair Bell
