On Thursday, February 8, Special Counsel Robert Hur released a report on the status of the federal government's response to President Joe Biden's alleged mishandling of classified documents. Hur had been appointed Special Counsel of the Department of Justice by current Attorney General Merrick Garland on January 12, 2023, to oversee the Department's proceedings in response to the situation.
The first instance of classified documents being found in a space belonging to Biden occurred on November 2, 2022, when Biden's attorneys found a small collection of documents marked as classified in a "locked closet" while clearing out his offices at the Penn Biden Center, in which Biden had worked after completing his tenure as vice president under former president Obama. The attorneys promptly reached out to the office of the White House Counsel, allowing the found documents to be returned to the custody of the National Archives and Records Administration the following day. Three days after the statement of these findings was released, the White House confirmed rumors that had arisen of the presence of classified documents in the garage of Biden's home in Wilmington, Delaware. When asked by a reporter about the situation, Biden stated,
"My Corvette is in a locked garage. OK? So it’s not like they’re sitting out in the street. But as I said earlier this week, people know I take classified documents and classified material seriously. I also said we’re cooperating fully and completely with the Justice Department’s review."
Special Counsel Robert Hur, appointed by Merrick Garland to oversee the investigation into Biden's handling of classified documents. During Trump's presidency, Hur was the top federal prosecutor in Maryland. (USA Today)
As part of the updates included in the recent report, it is stated that Biden will not receive any criminal charges for the misplacement of the classified documents. This is a stark contrast from the state of former president Donald Trump's similar criminal proceedings that are occurring simultaneously -- Trump is under indictment for having resisted turning over classified documents he kept at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida, a situation that led to the estate being raided for these documents by the FBI. Trump and other Republicans have been keen to use the investigation into Biden as an argument against his 2024 presidential campaign, while liberals on the opposing side argue that Trump has placed himself in an objectively worse position by resisting authorities and receiving criminal indictments by making more irresponsible decisions with his classified documents.
A focus of Hur's report that has gained wide media attention is Biden's capability of interacting with others and recalling vital information, especially due to his old age of 81. According to Hur, Biden's memory struggled greatly during his interviews with the special counsel's office, with Biden failing to remember when he ended his term as vice president or when his son Beau Biden passed away.
“We have also considered that, at trial, Mr. Biden would likely present himself to a jury, as he did during our interview of him, as a sympathetic, well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory,” the report stated.
Biden angrily responded to this criticism during his remarks on the report on Thursday, with reporters later noting the tense mood of the room at the time.
"How in the hell dare he raise that?" Biden questioned. "Frankly, when I was asked the question, I thought to myself, it was none of their damn business."
Joe Biden delivers angered remarks in the White House on Thursday after Robert Hur's report alleges that he is significantly disabled by worsening memory as a result of his age. (CNN)
According to a CNN poll, 46% of Democrats raise Biden's age as a concern regarding his presidency. Although Biden will not be receiving criminal punishment for his mishandling of the classified documents found in his office and home spaces, the lasting effects of this investigation still remain to be seen in the upcoming 2024 presidential election. The events of the paralleling criminal proceedings involving former president Trump will also play a major role in his and Biden's reputations and approval over the coming months.
Sources:
- https://apnews.com/article/biden-classified-documents-age-trump-2024-4791639cc06cc0affee55aba80c7e6b3
- https://www.nytimes.com/2023/01/12/us/politics/biden-documents.html
- https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2024/02/10/biden-special-counsel-report-crossed-line/72539550007/
- https://apnews.com/article/biden-politics-united-states-government-812ef44a5333f6d93423a67a683fa024
- https://www.cnn.com/politics/live-news/biden-classified-documents-report-02-08-24/index.html
3 comments:
This does appear to be a somewhat widespread problem, with both of our two last presidents having kept classified documents after their time in office. The big difference, of course, being that while Trump fought to keep those documents, Biden had appeared more willing to cooperate with them being taken from his office and his home, where they were found by federal investigators. I think we will definitely see Trump spinning this as a difference on how he was treated versus Biden in such similar situations, villainizing the left. This news also makes me wonder how widespread this has been in the past, or if it is a more recent occurrence. Also, assuming the parties were more interested in maintaining a positive image of the government than attacking each other in the past, if past presidents had kept classified documents, would their discovery have been kept a secret?
That's definitely an interesting point Zach, I definitely feel like some of the early presidents must have kept documents after, and I wonder if the presidents involved in the Vietnam War (especially the first two) kept the classified documents proving that the war was unwinnable. Besides the presidents, I wonder if any of the high-level executive branch staff especially, like the Chief of Staff or Cabinet members, have kept classified documents pertaining to their specific departments. Would blame for that fall entirely on them or also reflect negatively on the President who appointed/worked with them?
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