Posted on 02/08/24
| News Source: The Hill
A special counsel investigating President Biden’s handling of classified materials concluded his case, determining that Biden “willfully” retained classified documents but stopping short of bringing charges against the president.
Special counsel Robert Hur released his findings in a 388-page report after a roughly year-long investigation into how classified documents from Biden’s time as vice president ended up at an old office space and at his Wilmington, Del., home.
Attorney General Merrick Garland appointed Hur in January as a special counsel, tasking him with determining whether any laws were violated given the mishandling of the records.
While Hur concluded neither Biden nor his staff broke the law in removing the records, he was critical of their handling of the sensitive records.
“Our investigation uncovered evidence that President Biden willfully retained and disclosed classified materials after his vice presidency when he was a private citizen,” the report states, including “documents about military and foreign policy in Afghanistan” and “handwritten entries about issues of national security and foreign policy implicating sensitive intelligence sources and methods.”
“However, for the reasons summarized below, we conclude that the evidence does not establish Mr. Biden’s guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.”
The White House declined to assert privilege over any portion of the report, allowing its swift release the day after Congress was notified Hur completed his work.
Hur describes the items kept by Biden as being of “great personal significance to him,” noting his opposition to the war in Afghanistan sparked criticism, but that “he always believed history would prove him right.”
Among the items kept by Biden were a letter to then-President Obama opposing a troop surge in the country.
“These materials were proof of the stand Mr. Biden took in what he regarded as among the most important decisions of his vice presidency,” the report states.
But Hur said there were numerous aspects of the saga that would work against prosecutors seeking to convenience a jury beyond a reasonable doubt if they brought charges.
He noted that the Afghanistan documents were “in Mr. Biden’s Delaware garage-in a badly damaged box surrounded by household detritus,” while that and other details would cut against a case he retained them willfully.
“We would reach the same conclusion even if Department of Justice policy did not foreclose criminal charges against a sitting president,” Hur wrote.
The White House was “pleased” the investigation concluded and determined charges were not warranted, even if Biden were a private citizen, White House special counsel Richard Sauber said in a statement.
“The simple truth is President Biden takes classified information seriously and strives to protect it. He has spent decades at the highest levels of government defending and advancing America’s national security and foreign policy interests and protecting her secrets,” Sauber said, calling Biden’s cooperation with the probe, “extraordinary.”