Biden responds to special counsel report on handling of classified documents

Special counsel Robert Hur’s report released Thursday did not charge President Joe Biden with a crime, but it painted a picture of a forgetful commander-in-chief who failed to properly protect highly sensitive classified information — a depiction that could hurt Biden politically.

The special counsel report found that Biden willfully retained classified information, including top secret documents, and knew he was in possession of some documents as far back as 2017, and shared some of that information with the ghostwriter of his 2017 memoir.

Here are some of the key takeaways:

• A painful report for Biden: Hur laid out in detail how Biden mishandled classified materials, writing that FBI agents discovered materials from “the garage, offices, and basement den in Mr. Biden’s Wilmington, Delaware, home.” The materials included classified documents, including some marked at the highest top secret/sensitive compartmented information level, related to military and foreign policy in Afghanistan, as well as notebooks containing Biden's handwriting. Hur’s report also included photos depicting various parts of Biden’s homes, materials at issue in the investigation and other relevant scenes over the years.
• Hur says evidence didn't support charging the president: While the investigation revealed that Biden “willfully retained and disclosed classified materials” after leaving office, Hur’s report says his team concluded that the evidence didn’t support prosecuting the president. The primary reason for that determination was that nothing proved a willful intent by Biden to illegally hold onto classified information. The special counsel also raised Biden’s age and memory in explaining why he didn’t bring charges.
• Biden slams Hur's depiction of him and misspeaks: The president tore into the special counsel's depiction of him as an elderly man who was absent-minded in interviews during hastily scheduled remarks at the White House Thursday night. But just minutes after defending his memory and cognition, Biden misspoke and called President of Egypt Abdel Fattah al-Sisi the “president of Mexico,” a moment that undercut his forceful pushback against the report.
• Republicans get political gifts: Congressional Republicans wasted no time seizing on Hur’s report, claiming that the decision not to bring criminal charges is evidence of political bias against their party’s likely presidential nominee in 2024, as well as that details about Biden’s memory issues prove he is not fit for office.

Read more takeaways from the report and reactions from Republicans and the White House.

This post has been updated following Biden's remarks.

President Joe Biden placed the blame for his handling of classified documents on his staff, saying he took responsibility for “not having seen exactly” what they were doing. 

“I take responsibility for not having seen exactly what my staff was doing,” Biden said, when asked by a reporter if he took responsibility for being careless with classified material. “Things that appear in my garage, things that came out of my home, things that were moved -- not by me but my staff."

Biden was asked later what he would do differently and responded that what he should have done is “oversee the transfer of the material that was in my office – in my offices.”

“I should have done that,” he said. “If I go back, I didn't have the responsibility, that was – my staff was supposed to do that and they referenced that in the report. And my staff did not do it in a way that – for example, I didn't know how half the boxes got in my garage until I found out staff gathering them up, put them together and took them out of the garage of my home.” 

He also drew a comparison with former President Donald Trump’s handling of classified material, saying his documents weren’t “out in like – in Mar Lago, in a public place where – and none of it was high classified, it didn't have any of that red stuff on it. You know what I mean? The red stuff around the corners? None of that.”

Special counsel Robert Hur found that Biden did not properly protect classified documents in a report released earlier Thursday but said that Biden should not be criminally charged. 

President Joe Biden fired back at reporters lobbing questions at him on Thursday following a special counsel report that did not charge him with a crime, but it painted a picture of a forgetful commander-in-chief who failed to properly protect highly sensitive classified information

The report references apparent lapses in memory from the president. One reporter asked Biden, "How bad is your memory and can you continue as president?"

Biden replied, "My memory is so bad I let you speak."

Another reporter in the room asked the president if he believed his memory had gotten worse. Biden replied:

"None of you thought could I pass any of the things I got passed. How did that happen? I guess I just forgot what was going on," Biden quipped.

President Joe Biden fired back against special counsel Robert Hur’s description of why he was not charged, with Hur describing the president as potentially being seen by a jury as a “well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory.”

He dismissed concerns from the American people about his age when pressed by CNN’s MJ Lee on the matter after previously saying they should watch him and make their own judgment.  

Age has presented a chronic issue and political liability for Biden: 46% of Democrats in a CNN poll conducted by SSRS released last week were concerned about his age.  

“That is your judgment. That is your judgment,” he told Lee, raising his voice, as she asked about the polling.

Pressed again by Lee on why he is best equipped to take on former President Donald Trump in a November general election, he said, “Because I’m the most qualified person in this country to finish the job I started.”

President Joe Biden, minutes after defending his memory, mistakenly referred to Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi as the the president of Mexico while answering questions from reporters about hostage negotiations and humanitarian aid in the Gaza strip.

“Initially, the president of Mexico -- Sisi -- did not want to open up the gate to allow humanitarian material to get in. I talked to him. I convinced him to open the gate. I talked to Bibi to open the gate on Israeli side. I've been pushing really hard, really hard to get humanitarian assistance into Gaza. There are a lot of innocent people who are starving. Lots of innocent people are in trouble and dying. And it's got to stop."

Biden also noted that he’s “pushing very hard now to deal with this hostage ceasefire."

If an initial delay possible, Biden said: ”I think that we would be able to extend that so that we could increase the prospect that this fighting in Gaza changes. There's also other negotiations."

President Joe Biden said he’s pleased that special counsel Robert Hur “reached a firm conclusion that no charges should be brought against me in this case.” 

"The special counsel acknowledged I cooperated completely. I did not throw up any roadblocks. I sought no delays," the president said of his response to the investigation into his handling of classified documents.

Biden noted that he cooperated with the probe and sat for a five hour interview over two days in October, "even though Israel had just been attacked by Hamas."

Joe Biden slammed special counsel Robert Hur for putting in his report that the president did not remember when his son Beau died, in a mention of Biden's apparent memory lapses.

The report said investigators found Biden’s “memory was significantly limited” during interviews with his ghostwriter and an interview with Hur’s office last year. According to the report, Biden — during the 2023 interview — did not remember when his son Beau died nor the years he was vice president.

Biden started to say he wore his son's rosary every day since the day he died, but stopped, appearing to choke up. 

“Every Memorial Day we hold a service remembering him, attended by friends and family and the people who loved him,” Biden said, after a pause. “I don't need anyone. I don't need anyone to remind me when he passed away.” 

He then reiterated that when he sat down with the special counsel, “at the same time I was managing an international crisis.” 

Asked later if he felt his memory had gotten worse, Biden responded: “My memory is fine.” 

“Take a look at what I've done since I've become president,” Biden said. “None of you thought I could pass any of the things I got passed. How'd that happen?”

President Joe Biden is now giving remarks at the White House following the release of a report by special counsel Robert Hur into his handling of classified documents.

The report concluded Biden willfully retained and disclosed classified military and national security information but recommended he not face charges.

President Joe Biden will deliver remarks from the White House at 7:45 p.m. the White House said. 

No topic was immediately given, but the remarks come hours after the release of special counsel Robert Hur's report on the president's handling of classified documents.