PHOTO: Department of Justice Special Counsel Robert Hur, right, testifies on Capitol Hill, March 12, 2024. House Judiciary Committee Chair Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, is shown on the rear screen. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
WASHINGTON – All eyes were on Capitol Hill today as Special Counsel Robert Hur testified before the House Judiciary Committee on his bombshell report about President Joe Biden’s mishandling of classified documents and memory issues. Hur faced heated questions from members on both sides of the aisle as he defended and explained his conclusions in his 388-page report.
Hur testified that his assessment of Biden’s memory was “necessary, accurate, and fair.” He also made the case that including the assessment was crucial context on why he did not recommend charges against President Biden for mishandling classified documents.
“What I wrote is what I believe the evidence shows – and what I expect jurors would perceive and believe,” said Hur. “I did not sanitize my explanation, nor did I disparage the president unfairly.”
During his investigation, Hur sat with Biden for a little more than five hours which led him to conclude the president was an “elderly man with a poor memory” because he forgot key details from his life, like what year his son Beau died and when he served as Vice President.
“My task was to determine whether the president retained or disclosed national defense information willfully, that means knowingly and with the intent to do something the law forbids,” explained Hur. “I could not make that determination without assessing the president’s state of mind. For that reason, I had to consider the president’s memory and overall mental state and how a jury likely would perceive his memory and mental state in a criminal trial.”
House Democrats maintained the report was politically motivated and claimed slip ups have long been par for the course.
“I believe, as is his habit, that President Biden probably committed a verbal slip or two during the interview,” commented Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-NY). “And I’m not sure any of that matters—because when the interview was over, Mr. Hur completely exonerated President Biden.”
Democrats also brought in Donald Trump’s handling of classified documents in contrast to Biden’s, and played multiple montages calling into question the former president’s mental fitness.
“That is a man who is incapable of avoiding criminal liability, a man who is wholly unfit for office, and a man who at the very least ought to think twice before accusing others of cognitive decline,” declared Nadler.
Republicans argued the Hur report boils down to a few key facts.
“Joe Biden kept classified information; Joe Biden failed to properly secure classified information; and Joe Biden shared classified information with people he wasn’t supposed to,” said Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH).
They also questioned Hur’s conclusion to not recommend criminal charges.
“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,” continued Jordan.
Republicans also showed a video of Biden denying the report’s findings hours after its release.
“I did not share classified information, I did not share with my ghostwriter, I did not, I guarantee you did not,” Biden told reporters following the report’s release.
