Ex-Special Counsel Robert Hur testified Tuesday that President Biden \u2018willfully retained classified materials\u2019 but said he \u2018had to consider\u2019 the president\u2019s \u2018memory and overall mental state\u2019 when determining whether to bring charges against him.<\/p>\n
Hur, who testified publicly before the House Judiciary and Oversight committees on Tuesday, explained that he did not bring charges against the president despite the willful retention of classified records about\u00a0military and foreign policy in Afghanistan and other countries, among other records related to national security and foreign policy, which Hur said implicated \u2018sensitive intelligence sources and methods.\u2019<\/p>\n
\u2018My team and I conducted a thorough, independent investigation,\u2019 Hur testified. \u2018We identified evidence that the president willfully retained classified materials after the end of his vice presidency, when he was a private citizen.\u2019\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u2018This evidence included an audio-recorded conversation during which Mr. Biden told his ghostwriter that he had \u2018just found all the classified stuff downstairs.\u2019 When Mr. Biden said this, he was a private citizen speaking to his ghostwriter in his private rental home in Virginia,\u2019 Hur continued. \u2018We also identified other recorded conversations during which Mr. Biden read classified information aloud to his ghostwriter.\u2019<\/p>\n
He added, though, that \u2018we did not, however, identify evidence that rose to the level of proof beyond a reasonable doubt. Because the evidence fell short of that standard, I declined to recommend criminal charges against Mr. Biden.\u2019\u00a0<\/p>\n
But Hur said he \u2018needed to explain why\u2019 he declined prosecution.<\/p>\n
\u2018I had to consider the president\u2019s memory and overall mental state and how a jury likely would perceive his memory and mental state in a criminal trial,\u2019 Hur testified. \u2018These are the types of issues prosecutors analyze every day. And because these issues were important to my ultimate decision, I had to include a discussion of them in my report to the attorney general.\u2019<\/p>\n
Hur, in his report, described Biden as a \u2018sympathetic, well-meaning elderly man with a poor memory\u2019 \u2013 a description that has raised significant concerns for Biden\u2019s 2024 reelection campaign.<\/p>\n
\u2018The evidence and the president himself put his memory squarely at issue. We interviewed the president and asked him about his recorded statement, \u2018I just found all the classified stuff downstairs.\u2019 He told us that he didn\u2019t remember saying that to his ghostwriter,\u2019 Hur said. \u2018He also said he didn\u2019t remember finding any classified material in his home after his vice presidency. And he didn\u2019t remember anything about how classified documents about Afghanistan made their way into his garage.\u2019\u00a0<\/p>\n
Hur defended himself by saying his assessment in the report \u2018about the relevance of the president\u2019s memory was necessary and accurate and fair.\u2019<\/p>\n
\u2018Most 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,\u2019 Hur testified. \u2018I explained to the attorney general my decision and the reasons for it. That\u2019s what I was required to do.\u2019<\/p>\n
Hur\u2019s opening statement came after House Judiciary Committee Chair Jim Jordan began the hearing by playing a video of Biden speaking about the former special counsel\u2019s report on the day it was released.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u2018Mr. Hur produced a 345-page report. But in the end, it boils down to a few key facts. Joe Biden kept classified information,\u2019 Jordan said. \u2018Joe Biden failed to properly secure classified information. And Joe Biden shared classified information with people he wasn\u2019t supposed to.\u2019<\/p>\n
\u2018We\u2019re going to play a short video of President Biden\u2019s press conference after your report was released,\u2019 Jordan added. \u2018Because there\u2019s things in this press conference that the United States says that are directly contradicted by what you found in your report.\u2019\u00a0<\/p>\n
A transcript of President Biden\u2019s interviews with Robert Hur appears to contradict Biden\u2019s claim that the former special counsel had asked him about the date of Beau Biden\u2019s death.<\/p>\n
But ranking member Jerrold Nadler, D-N.Y., blasted former President Trump, who was charged by Special Counsel Jack Smith related to his own alleged mishandling of classified records. Trump pleaded not guilty.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The former president and presumptive 2024 GOP nominee posted on Truth Social before Hur\u2019s testimony, saying the Justice Department gave Biden a \u2018free pass.\u2019<\/p>\n
\u2018Big day in Congress for the Biden Documents Hoax,\u2019 Trump wrote on his Truth Social account. \u2018He had many times more documents, including classified documents, than I, or any other president, had. He had them all over the place, with ZERO supervision or security.\u00a0He does NOT come under the Presidential Records Act, I DO.\u2019<\/p>\n
\u2018The DOJ gave Biden, and virtually every other person and President, a free pass. Me, I\u2019m still fighting!!!\u2019 Trump added.<\/p>\n
Trump\u00a0was charged\u00a0out of Smith\u2019s investigation related to his retention of classified materials. Trump pleaded not guilty to all 37 felony charges out of Smith\u2019s probe. The charges include willful retention of national defense information, conspiracy to obstruct justice and false statements.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Nadler played a video of clips of Trump speaking, putting into question his \u2018mental state.\u2019\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u2018That is a man who is incapable of avoiding criminal liability. A man who is wholly unfit for office \u2026 a man who, at the very least, ought to think twice before accusing others of cognitive decline,\u2019 Nadler said of Trump, adding that Hur\u2019s report \u2018represents the complete and total exoneration of President Biden.\u2019<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, House Oversight Committee Chair James Comer, R-Ky., said in his opening statement that his panel has subpoenaed ex-White House counsel Dana Remus and tied Hur\u2019s testimony into the larger House impeachment inquiry against the president.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Comer for months has been demanding answers on whether the classified records Biden improperly retained were related to countries that his family did business with.\u00a0<\/p>\n
House Oversight Committee ranking member Jamie Raskin, D-Md., piggybacked Nadler\u2019s opening statement by bringing the conversation back to Trump.<\/p>\n
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.<\/p>\n\n
Ex-Special Counsel Robert Hur testified Tuesday that President Biden \u2018willfully retained classified materials\u2019 but said he \u2018had to consider\u2019 the president\u2019s \u2018memory and overall mental state\u2019 when determining whether to bring charges against him. Hur, who testified publicly before the House Judiciary and Oversight committees on Tuesday, explained that he did not bring charges against <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":16919,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[25],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-16918","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-politics"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/shareperformanceinsight.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16918","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/shareperformanceinsight.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/shareperformanceinsight.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shareperformanceinsight.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=16918"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/shareperformanceinsight.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16918\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shareperformanceinsight.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/16919"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/shareperformanceinsight.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16918"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shareperformanceinsight.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16918"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shareperformanceinsight.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16918"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}