The special counsel investigating President Biden’s handling of classified material after leaving the vice presidency in 2017 concluded in a report released today that “no criminal charges are warranted.”Robert Hur, the special counsel, found that Biden had “willfully” retained and disclosed some sensitive material, including notebooks with entries “implicating sensitive intelligence sources and methods.” Hur criticized the president for sharing some of the classified information with a ghostwriter, but added that the evidence “does not establish Mr. Biden’s guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.”For Biden, Hur’s decision not to prosecute was a long-awaited legal exoneration, but the special counsel’s report still turned out to be a political nightmare.
In passages explaining his reasons not to pursue a trial, Hur said that Biden had presented himself as a “well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory” and described interviews in which Biden could not recall when he served as vice president or what year his son Beau Biden died.
A lawyer for Biden criticized parts of the report as “inaccurate and inappropriate.” In a statement, Biden appeared to suggest that his memory lapses were hiccups during five hours of interviews held in the days after Israel was attacked.
But Hur’s comments resurfaced widespread worries about the president’s age.
Persons:
Biden’s, ” Robert Hur, Biden, “, ”, ” Hur, Hur’s, Hur, Beau Biden
Organizations:
Biden
Locations:
Israel