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The House Judiciary Committee grilled former special counsel Robert Hur on Tuesday over his investigation and report into President Biden’s mishandling of classified information.
As expected, both Republicans and Democrats used Mr. Hur and his report to score political points. Democrats sought to turn Tuesday’s hearing into a show trial targeting former President Donald Trump for hiding classified information at his Mar-a-Lago complex. Republicans questioned why Mr.
But Republicans on the committee missed a huge opportunity. Instead of focusing on whether Mr. Xu should have indicted Mr. Biden, the focus should have been on why Mr. Hsu should have indicted Mr. Biden. did not do it Indict Biden. Famously, Mr. Xu wrote in a report last month that he declined to press charges against the president, in part because he was an “elderly man with a poor memory” who jurors would likely sympathize with.
Former special counsel Robert Hur testifies on findings of Biden secrets investigation
The important question for most Americans is not whether Mr. Biden brought back classified documents after his term as vice president ended in 2017, but whether he is mentally fit to continue serving as president. In fact, longstanding Justice Department precedent prohibits federal prosecutors from bringing criminal charges against a sitting president.
Tuesday’s hearing made it clear that Mr. Xu is an upright prosecutor, like the fine career officials at the Department of Justice that we both have worked with. In his opening statement, Mr. Xu declared that he would “refrain from speculating or commenting on areas outside the scope of the investigation.” He stuck to that idea throughout the hearing, repeatedly referring to the report he wrote in February 2024 and rejecting attempts to get him to say anything more damaging about either Biden or Trump.
Curiously, some Democratic members of Congress decided to attack Mr. Xu’s integrity despite refusing to press charges against party leaders. Representative Hank Johnson of Georgia accused Mr. Hur of launching a deliberately partisan attack. “You used your report to smear and smear President Biden…and you probably knew it would feed into the Republican argument that he was unfit to be president,” he said, “because he’s an old man.” (Mr. Hur later said he did not think Mr. Biden was senile and did not use that word in his report.) Mr. Johnson also baselessly claimed that Mr. Hur was a member of the Federal Society. (He doesn’t), he accused of “doing whatever it takes to make a profit.” Now that President Trump has been re-elected, you will be appointed to a federal judgeship or perhaps to another position in the Department of Justice. ”
Things went downhill from there.
Schiff Sparse has heated exchange with Hur over reports that he ‘disparaged’ Biden: ‘That never happened’
California Democratic Rep. Adam Schiff (currently running to replace the late Sen. Dianne Feinstein) and Rep. Eric Swalwell both attacked Mr. Ha. Swalwell said Biden has a “photographic memory” of his Wilmington home and asked him to pledge not to seek a role in a possible second Trump administration. insisted. Mr. Xu refused.
The important question for most Americans is not whether Mr. Biden brought back classified documents after his term as vice president ended in 2017, but whether he is mentally fit to continue serving as president.
Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., falsely claimed that Herr’s report was a “complete exoneration of President Joe Biden,” and reiterated that Herr did not prove his innocence. I had to. Rep. Cori Bush, D-Missouri, did not attempt to ask Mr. Hur any questions, instead delivering a five-minute speech denouncing Mr. Trump as “the ultimate white supremacist.”
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Republicans went even further. Chairman Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) certifies a report that found Biden made $8 million by using classified information to write his November 2017 book “Promise Me, Dad.” I made Mr. Huh admit it. Biden shared that information with a ghostwriter. Florida Republican Matt Gaetz agreed with Herr that President Biden’s repeated claim that he “never shared” classified documents was inaccurate. Rep. Kevin Kiley (R-Calif.) said he believes a reasonable jury could convict Biden and that Biden’s actions risk serious harm to national security. I succeeded in persuading Mr. Ha.
But Republican lawmakers were unable to dig into the most important areas of the question. Although the Justice Department released the transcript of the interview, only Heo’s personal testimony allows the American people to truly understand President Biden’s mental state. Committee members did not ask Mr. Hsu to comment on Mr. Biden’s demeanor, alertness, memory, integrity or overall mental state, for example.
Republican lawmakers did not strongly follow up on the conclusion in Hsu’s report that Biden’s answers may be “unreliable.” They will ask Ho to explain exactly which of their findings and Biden’s answers led them to believe that a jury might not convict Biden, and whether the Justice Department could rebut those claims at trial. You could have asked him to explain exactly what happened. They could have asked Mr. Hsu why he didn’t focus on classified documents from his Senate days that were in Biden’s possession. Because senators cannot remove such documents or notes about them from the SCIF, Biden knowingly and illegally deleted and archived these classified documents.
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Members of the House Judiciary Committee also could have dug deeper into the interview transcripts. Records confirmed that Biden did not remember when he was vice president or when Trump was elected.
It confirmed that Biden himself was raising his son, Beau, and then incorrectly stated that 2017-2018 was the “time” for “my son.” [Beau] Beau Biden served in the Delaware National Guard in Iraq from 2008 to 2009 and tragically passed away from brain cancer on May 30, 2015.
According to records, President Biden answered questions from Mr.
Was Biden angry? Are you in the way? Did he honestly not remember, or did he just repeat the lines he was taught when he was in trouble? Was Biden’s tendency to wander into nostalgic stories due to age and mental decline, or was he avoidant and/or obstructive?
Congress should seriously consider considering these issues further. Commissioner Jordan has already taken the next step by requesting that the Justice Department provide all audio recordings and transcripts of the interviews. With Biden virtually assured of winning the Democratic nomination and Trump on the verge of winning the Republican nomination, the House Judiciary Committee will issue a review on whether the incumbent is mentally fit for a second term. There is an obligation to disclose information to the public.
John Shue is a legal scholar and commentator who served in the administrations of Presidents George H.W. Bush and George W. Bush.
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