Special Counsel Robert Hur released his anticipated report surrounding President Joe Biden‘s classified documents case. He concluded that President Biden (then VP) did retain classified military and national security information, but recommended he not face charges.
“We concluded that no criminal charges are warranted in this matter,” Hur stated. “We would reach the same conclusion even if Department of Justice policy did not foreclose criminal charges against a sitting president.”
No Charges, but a Damning Statement
It’s an embarrassing international headline. Even more embarrassing is how special counsel Hur’s report paints President Biden in a light that he was trying to evade.
“Mr. Biden would likely present himself to a jury, as he did during our interview of him, as a sympathetic, well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory. [Biden] is someone for whom many jurors will want to identify reasonable doubt.”
Biden’s 2024 campaign has already been battling an image of an elderly man with memory troubles.
The White House Responds
President Biden is just happy the investigation is over.
“I just believed that’s what I owed the American people so they could know no charges would be brought and the matter closed,” Biden said in a statement shortly after the report’s release. “I was pleased to see they reached the conclusion I believed all along they would reach – that there would be no charges brought in this case and the matter is now closed. This was an exhaustive investigation going back more than 40 years, even into the 1970s when I was a young Senator.”
White House Lawyer Richard Sauber weighed in. He was clearly concerned about a particular part of Hur’s report. “We disagree with a number of inaccurate and inappropriate comments in the special counsel’s report. Nonetheless, the most important decision the special counsel made – that no charges are warranted — is firmly based on the facts and evidence,” Sauber said.
Speaker Johnson and Other Republican House Members Share Thoughts
You can imagine that leaders on the other side of the aisle aren’t too happy about this report (beyond the elderly comment). Many say the results are contradictory since Fmr. President Trump was indicted for a similar situation. It’s worth noting a big difference between the cases – Biden cooperated.
Speaker Mike Johnson addressed the report on X: