The long-awaited investigation into President Joe Biden’s handling of sensitive documents was finally delivered in February by Special Counsel Robert Hur. In his assessment of the president’s mental health, he concluded that the evidence was insufficient to press charges. During a recent appearance before Congress, the special counsel rejected the official stories told by lawmakers.
The House Judiciary Committee heard Hur’s lengthy testimony on March 12. D-Washington Representative Pramila Jayapal claimed during her hearing that President Joe Biden had been “completely exonerated” by the probe.
Hur responded to Jayapal, saying that specific word doesn’t appear in his report. He explained, “That’s not part of my task as a prosecutor.”
Jayapal argued, “You exonerated him.”
The prosecutor asserted, “We did not exonerate him.”
Jayapal wasn’t the only Democrat Hur corrected. Earlier in his testimony, a Republican also asked him if he absolved Biden. The Conservative lawmaker was responding to Rep. Jerry Nadler’s (D-NY) opening statement, in which he called Hur’s report an exoneration of Biden.
Hur shot back at the Republican, proving to him that Nadler was completely mistaken. He clarified that the president was not absolved and that the word was never mentioned in the report.
The committee’s Democratic members made public the interview transcripts involving Hur and Biden. According to the transcript, Biden fumbled over his words and confused many dates.
Hur sparred with Democrats at other times during his testimony, as well. Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-CA) confronted Hur about part of the transcript of his interview with Biden. He’d told the president that he appeared “to have a photographic understanding and recall of the house.”
Hur affirmed that he did use the term “photographic” in the report. Swalwell asked him if he ever used that word in his report. Hur said he did not.
Swalwell: You said to President Biden, “you appear to have a photographic understanding and recall.” Did you say that?
— Acyn (@Acyn) March 12, 2024
Hur: Those words do appear in the transcript
Swalwell: Never appeared in your report
Hur: It does not appear in my report pic.twitter.com/jKJA6HCesd
Hur said that President Biden lied twice during their conversation when testifying on Capitol Hill. He first claimed falsely that he had not shared sensitive information with his ghostwriter, and then again that he had secured the papers. The man maintained there wasn’t enough proof to press charges.
