Democratic lawmakers criticized special counsel Robert Hur on Tuesday for assessing President Joe Biden’s state of mind during his investigation into Biden’s retention of classified documents after his term as vice president.
“You can’t tell me you’re so naive as to think your words didn’t set off a political firestorm,” Rep. Adam Schiff of California told Hur as the special counsel testified at a House Judiciary Committee hearing.
Another Democrat on the committee, Rep. Hank Johnson of Georgia, told Hur: “You’re doing everything you can to be president.” [Donald] Trump was re-elected so you could be appointed a federal judge or perhaps another position in the Justice Department.”
Hur replied that he had “no such ambitions.”
However, when asked by Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif., the attorney general declined to agree not to accept a future appointment from Trump.
“I’m not here today to testify about what will happen in the future,” Hur told Swalwell.
Hur defended his controversial decision to assess Biden’s “memory and general state of mind” during his investigation.
“My job was to determine whether the president intentionally withheld or disclosed national defense information,” Hur told the committee
“I could not make this decision without assessing the president’s state of mind,” Hur testified.
The special counsel concluded in his final report on the investigation that Biden “intentionally withheld and disclosed classified material” that the special counsel wrote posed “serious risks to national security.”
But Hur also said in that report that he had decided not to prosecute Biden over his handling of that material, in part because of the president’s alleged poor memory.
“I had to consider the president’s memory and general state of mind and how a jury would likely perceive his memory and state of mind in a criminal trial,” Hur testified Tuesday.
Biden and his lawyers have strongly disputed Hur’s characterization of the president’s memory, pointing to details in the special counsel’s report that support the claim that he intentionally preserved classified documents.
“I didn’t clean up my statement. “I did not disparage the president unjustifiably,” Hur told lawmakers on Tuesday.
Former Special Counsel Robert K. Hur testifies next to a video of President Joe Biden before the House Judiciary Committee on March 12, 2024 in Washington, DC.
Chip Somodevilla | Getty Images
Hur told Congress that he was not recommending charges against Biden because the evidence did not rise to probative value beyond a reasonable doubt.
“Because the evidence did not meet this standard, I declined to recommend criminal charges against Mr. Biden,” Hur said.
Republicans on the panel accused the White House of obstructing Congress by failing to comply with a subpoena requesting an audio recording of Hur’s interview with Biden.
“President Biden, the White House and his personal lawyers have not been honest with the American people about his deliberate withholding of classified materials and continue to hide information from Congress,” said House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, D- Ky. said.
Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, claimed Biden kept secret documents to support his book deal.
“Pride and money are the reason [Biden] “Knowingly violated the rules,” Jordan claimed.
Democratic members released the transcripts of Hur’s interviews with Biden on Tuesday.
NBC News reported that Hur resigned as special counsel ahead of his testimony, as is standard practice for prosecutors appointed by the Justice Department to investigate.
Hur and other special counsels assigned to investigate Biden’s son Hunter Biden and Trump were appointed by Attorney General Merrick Garland to avoid the appearance of a conflict of interest since President Biden is Garland’s boss.
House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan (R-OH) (L) and Ranking Member Jerry Nadler (D-NY) deliver opening statements as former Special Counsel Robert K. Hur testifies before the Judiciary Committee on March 12 of the House of Representatives, 2024 in Washington, DC
Chip Somodevilla | Getty Images
Democrats drew a contrast between Trump and Biden at Tuesday’s hearing by highlighting criminal allegations against Trump.
Trump is being indicted in federal court in Florida by special counsel Jack Smith for storing classified documents at his Palm Beach residence after leaving the White House and allegedly trying to hide those documents from government officials after they were discovered to have disappeared .
Trump, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, has pleaded not guilty in the case.
“President Biden acted responsibly and cooperated fully,” said Rep. Jerry Nadler of New York, the ranking Democrat on the Judiciary Committee.
“President Trump was fundamentally unable to take advantage of any of the many, many opportunities he was given to escape these allegations,” Nadler said.
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2024-03-12 18:59:06
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