Republicans quickly exploited references in the report about Biden’s age and memory to argue he is unsuitable for office.
Biden’s attorneys pushed back against the special counsel’s portrayals of his memory as depicted in the 350-page Hur report and accused her of excessive investigative methods and violating Justice Department norms.
President Trump
President Obama initially kept largely silent regarding the report’s most damaging conclusions; perhaps with good cause.
But Hur’s report could become a political liability for Trump as it highlights what some see as criminal behavior on his part – specifically mishandling classified material at his private home and storing it there.
The report concluded that Biden willfully retained and disclosed classified information after leaving office as vice president, including handwritten notes containing “implicitly sensitive intelligence sources and methods,” to his ghostwriter for use in writing his memoir. While these actions could potentially be prosecuted, the White House and Biden’s attorneys cited Biden’s age and memory lapses as impeding prosecution for felonies that require willfulness – saying these allegations were highly prejudicial to Biden who had experienced similar memory lapses himself.
Vice President Biden
The White House strongly objected to the report’s slippery construction, which highlights Biden’s age and memory issues as central points. That was particularly problematic after three instances in which he made mistakes with names of world leaders like Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi and French President Francois Mitterrand.
Hur’s report found evidence of Biden mishandling classified information, yet did not find grounds to prosecute him criminally. Instead, his decision not to charge Biden was made on account of it being difficult for juries to convict an elderly man with poor memory who acted with good intentions.
Attorney General Merrick Garland took care to protect his department from Republican attacks and demonstrate its independence when he selected Hur as investigator of this matter, yet by making public all derogatory information about an uncharged subject in Hur’s report – leaving it open for political manipulation – leaving the Justice Department vulnerable to political manipulation by Trump, who could use its publication against it in further attacks claiming they’re trying to settle political scores with them.
Attorney General William Barr
Trump and his team are seeking to bolster their case against Robert Mueller and that charges should be dropped against them, using documents like Hur’s report on Biden’s handling of classified material as leverage against him. It outlines multiple instances where he improperly held onto or shared highly classified information with his ghostwriter – such as an Afghanistan memo with markings indicating TSSCI, which indicates its highest level of classification.
But it also shows he was well aware that keeping handwritten notes containing classified material at home was illegal, yet still did so. Furthermore, it reveals how Biden often misidentified European leaders who died years ago – evidence of his poor memory.
Special Counsel Robert Hur
As Biden was being defended against any political fallout of this report by both his attorneys and White House staffers, they pointed out that many people make mistakes when speaking in public; they provided examples such as senators or elected officials mispronouncing names or making other errors during speeches or interviews.
This 388-page report details classified information about Afghanistan that Biden retained after his time as vice president at his Delaware home and private office in Washington DC. Specifically, evidence revealed by this investigation suggests Biden may have disclosed these materials inappropriately to others.
The special counsel found that his case against Joe Biden could not be proven beyond reasonable doubt, yet his report took what appeared to be gratuitous aim at his memory and mental capability – an action which was both dangerous and unnecessary, flouting Justice Department regulations and norms as well as undermining Attorney General Merrick Garland who has worked hard to insulate his department from Trump attacks and demonstrate prosecutorial independence. If possible, the White House should have edited these politically damaging details out of the final report before its publication.
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