Special counsel Robert Hur testifies on Biden classified documents probe

The White House said that special counsel Robert Hur's testimony Tuesday was enough to put to rest the classified documents matter against President Joe Biden and that Hur's decision not to charge Biden is evidence "the president is innocent."

"Case closed," White House counsel's office spokesman Ian Sams told reporters. He said Hur "came to obvious conclusion there is no case here" after interviewing more than 100 witnesses.

He said questioning from Republican lawmakers Tuesday made "it obvious they’re trying to help the former president," referring to Donald Trump.

“We have a presumption of innocence in this country — the job of a prosecutor is simple … you either charge or you don't charge,” Sams told CNN’s MJ Lee at the White House. “And so if that's the decision, and the decision is made after a 15-month sprawling investigation, looking at every possible theory, turning over every rock to try to find any evidence that they can, and the evidence does not support bringing charges, that presumption of innocence takes it to another level.” 

Hur took special pains Tuesday to note his decision to not charge Biden should not be construed as an exoneration.

“I did not exonerate him. That word does not appear in the report,” Hur said.

Former special counsel Robert Hur appeared before Congress on Tuesday to explain his investigation into President Joe Biden’s handling of classified documents — which led to no charges against the president but plenty of consternation among Democrats when Hur described Biden as a “well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory” in his report.

While Hur came ready to defend his investigation, outlining a specific, legal case — or lack thereof — the members of the House Judiciary Committee were fighting a battle over the much more subjective political consequences to Hur’s report just months before the 2024 presidential election.

• Hur tried to play it straight: In his opening statement, Hur defended his report, which found evidence Biden willfully retained classified materials but that the evidence did not rise to the level of proof beyond a reasonable doubt. And he took on criticism directly over his inclusion of the state of Biden’s memory. Hur dodged GOP attempts to bash Biden’s age, beyond the analysis in his report.
• Hur says report not an exoneration: Hur tried his best to stick to what was in his report, even as he was pushed to go further either to criticize Biden — or to declare his innocence. Hur was clear on Tuesday that he did not want to play ball with Republicans on whether Biden is “senile,” given the former special counsel’s decision to describe Biden as an “elderly man with a poor memory” in his investigative report. Rep. Pramila Jayapal, a Washington state Democrat, tussled with Hur over his conclusions, claiming Hur “exonerated” Biden. But Hur immediately took issue with the term during a tense exchange in which they both repeatedly cut each other off. “I did not exonerate him,” Hur said. “That word does not appear in the report.”
• Hur attacked from both sides: Lawmakers in both parties found plenty of reasons to take issue with Hur’s report. Several Democrats went after Hur for his comments on Biden’s memory lapses, calling them gratuitous and implying he was trying to help Trump’s reelection bid by wounding the Democratic president. On the Republican side, lawmakers pressed Hur on why he didn’t charge Biden despite the evidence of classified documents in Biden’s possession.
• 2024 overtones: Tuesday’s oversight hearing gave lawmakers in both parties a high-profile opportunity to score political points against both Biden and Donald Trump, the presumptive nominees in the 2024 presidential election. Throughout the hearing, Democrats and Republicans frequently peppered Hur with questions about either Trump or Biden not intended to elicit a response but to criticize the other party’s presumptive nominee

“You must be doing a great job in your report and during your investigation if you have convinced both sides that you are somewhere in the middle,” Buck said to Hur. 

During his questioning, Buck pushed Hur to explain how he determined whether Biden willfully kept classified documents, noting that Biden should have known the areas where he kept classified documents were not secure locations and that he didn’t call the National Archives when he found classified documents while working with the ghostwriter of his memoir. 

This gave Hur the opportunity to explain there were “evidentiary gaps” that defense attorneys or reasonable jurors could focus on in the case, including that although Biden told his ghostwriter he found classified information, he may have later forgotten about the documents.

“A second argument that we considered is that perhaps these documents never actually were in Virginia,” Hur added. Biden had told his ghostwriter he had found “classified stuff” in a Virginia home he rented until 2019. 

Jerry Nadler, the top Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee, gave reporters his key takeaways after Robert Hur's hearing about his investigation into President Joe Biden's mishandling of classified documents: 

“No. 1, the special counsel completely exonerated President Biden. He may not say he was exonerated, but he was exonerated because when the investigation concludes and there’s not enough evidence to charge somebody, you’re exonerated."

Nadler continued, "Secondly, the special counsel very pointedly contrasted this with the evidence against President Trump — former President Trump — who’s now been charged with about 40 different counts in terms of taking classified documents, not returning it when apprised of that, obstructing justice, hiding it, asking other people to hide the evidence.”

“Thirdly, I would say, the Republicans have made something of this very gratuitous remark by the special prosecutor about President Biden’s mental acuity," the New York Democrat said. "I think the State of the Union address and subsequent events have shown that’s ridiculous."

Special counsel Robert Hur said Tuesday he made no finding as to whether President Joe Biden was mentally fit for office as part of his investigation.

Rep. Glenn Ivey, a Maryland Democrat, asked Hur about his assessment that Biden had memory gaps. The congressman asked: “Did you say anywhere in your report that you thought … he’d be unfit for public office?”

“My report did not include any opinions on those issues,” Hur said.

The hearing has concluded after lawmakers briefly returned from an afternoon break. 

Hur told the GOP-led committee during the nearly five-hour long hearing that his assessment of Biden's memory and cognitive skills found in his report was "necessary and accurate and fair," and he explicitly said he "did not exonerate” Biden.

The bulk of the hearing involved members of the House Judiciary Committee fighting a battle over the much more subjective political consequences to Hur’s report just months before the 2024 presidential election.

The Biden campaign is feeling good about Robert Hur’s testimony Tuesday, a campaign official told CNN, citing the back-and-forth over Donald Trump’s handling of classified material during the House Judiciary Committee hearing. 

Heading into Tuesday, the White House prepared for attacks from congressional Republicans against Biden, especially over lapses in memory that were referenced in Hur's report. 

Democratic lawmakers have sought to contrast the Trump classified documents case and Biden's handling of classified documents over the course of the hearing, repeatedly stating that no charges were brought against the president.

Members of the committee are continuing to ask Hur questions about his investigation and report.

“Webster’s Dictionary defines ‘senile’ as exhibiting a decline of cognitive ability, such as memory, associated with old age,” Republican Rep. Scott Fitzgerald said. “Mr. Hur, based on your report, did you find that the president was senile?”

“I did not. That conclusion does not appear in my report,” Hur replied.

Hur had described Biden as an “elderly man with a poor memory" in his final investigative report.