In a report released in February, special prosecutor Robert Hur concluded that “criminal charges are not warranted in this matter.” But he described Biden, 81, as an “old man with a poor memory.”
In the document, Hur highlighted that Biden could not say the date he was vice president in Barack Obama’s government or the date of his son’s death.
Special prosecutor Robert Hur, during four hours of testimony before the House Judiciary Committee, firmly affirmed the conclusions of his 345-page report in which he questioned the age and mental capacity of the 81-year-old president, but recommended that no charges be brought against him.
“My team and I conducted a thorough and independent investigation” and “identified evidence that the President intentionally withheld classified material after the end of his vice presidency when he was a private citizen,” Hur summarized before two House committees.
Biden was Barack Obama’s vice president from 2009 to 2017.
Republicans have harshly charged that Biden has received preferential treatment from his own Justice Department and that Trump is unfairly victimized by prosecutors led by Biden appointee Merrick Garland.
Hur has received strong criticism from both parties. Republicans criticize him for not pressing charges against Biden and Democrats accuse him of unflattering comments about the current tenant of the White House.
The necessary evaluation
“My task was to determine whether the President ‘intentionally’ withheld or disclosed national defense information,” the special counsel recalled.
“I could not reach that conclusion without evaluating Biden’s mental state. For that reason, I had to consider his memory and his general mental state, and how a jury would likely perceive his memory and mental state in a criminal trial,” he argued.
“My assessment in the report of the importance of Biden’s mental state was necessary, precise and fair“he assured.
“I did not soften my explanation. Nor did I disparage Biden unfairly,” Robert Hur insisted.
The special prosecutor was appointed in 2023 by the Secretary of Justice, Merrick Garland, after the discovery in 2022 of hundreds of classified and top secret documents in several of his properties, including a house in Wilmington, Delaware (northeast) and in an old office.
Source: With information from AFP.
