Special counsel Robert Hur rejected claims by Democrats that he ‘completely exonerated’ Joe Biden by not charging him with mishandling classified documents during his fiery appearance in Congress.
He also revealed that the White House requested ‘certain changes’ to the report when he sent a draft that said Biden had a bad memory.
Hur then agreed with Republican Rep. Jim Jordan that ‘pride and money’ motivated Biden to keep sensitive files because he used some of the materials for a memoir that earned him $8 million.
In a tense exchange with Rep. Pramila Jayapal on whether his damning report cleared Biden, Hur said, ‘I didn’t exonerate him.’
Special counsel Robert Hur dismissed claims by Democrats that he ‘completely exonerated’ Joe Biden by not charging him with mishandling classified documents
He also said the word “exemption” did not appear in the report.
Japayal said ‘Mr. Hur, it’s my time’ as they talked over each other during his bombshell testimony in Congress.
At one point, Rep. suggested Will Kiley, R-Calif., Hur that a “reasonable juror” could have voted to convict Biden based on the facts Hur had presented.
“Right,” Hur said.
He refused to engage in a ‘hypothetical’ about whether he would have a vote to convict if he was on the jury.
White House oversight spokesman Ian Sams joked back about the ‘exonerated’ remarks on X: ‘This is a very strange thing for the national media – and the special counsel – to fixate on… In America you are innocent , until proven otherwise. The final conclusion here was that charges are NOT warranted and the case is CLOSED. In other words, the president was approved.’
Democrats and Republicans fired fierce questions at Hur during his appearance on Capitol Hill on Tuesday, a month after he released the report that said Biden had a poor memory and “diminished abilities.”
He insisted that politics played ‘no role whatsoever’ in his findings and dismissed suggestions from Democrats that his damning report was an attempt to get Donald Trump elected.
Republicans also questioned Hur, asking why Biden was not indicted when Trump was.
Hur began his testimony by revealing that Biden ‘intentionally’ kept classified materials as a private citizen and gave them to Mark Zwonitzer – the ghostwriter of his $8 million book – who later tried to destroy them.
In a tense exchange with Rep. Pramila Jayapal (above) on whether his damning report cleared Biden, he said: ‘I didn’t exonerate him’
Hur then agreed with Republican Rep. Jim Jordan that ‘pride and money’ motivated Biden to keep sensitive files because he used some of the materials for a memoir that earned him $8 million.
Hur arrived on Capitol Hill to provide insight into his damning classified document report that painted Biden as “elderly” and “forgetful” and with “diminished abilities,” but did not recommend charges against the president.
He pushed back at Democrats who argued his report cleared Biden of any wrongdoing, saying it “did not exonerate” the president.
“We have identified evidence that the president intentionally retained classified material after the end of his vice presidential term when he was a private citizen,” Hur said during the high-stakes hearing.
Hur said included in the evidence was a recorded conversation between Biden and his ghostwriter Zwonitzer, in which the president stated that he had just ‘found all the classified stuff down there.’
After leaving the vice presidency, Biden and now first lady Jill signed a multi-book deal with Flatiron Books worth $8 million, according to Publishers Weekly.
The first book, ‘Promise Me, Dad’, a memoir centered around the death of his son Beau and his decision not to run for president in 2015, briefly topped the bestseller list.
He insisted that politics played ‘no role whatsoever’ in his findings and dismissed suggestions by Democrats that his damning report was an attempt to get Donald Trump elected
Hur shockingly revealed that the ghostwriter tried to hide evidence after he was appointed special counsel in the case.
‘What did that ghostwriter do with the information Joe Biden shared with him on his laptop, what did he do after you were appointed special counsel?’ House Speaker Jim Jordan asked the former special counsel.
“He put those files in the recycle bin on his computer,” Hur said.
He ‘tried to destroy the evidence, didn’t he?’ Jordan asked.
“Right,” Hur said.
Chief Justice Jim Jordan noted that Biden received $8 million for his book deal and argued that Biden knowingly handed over those documents to the author.
“Pride and money are why he willfully broke the rules,” Jordan said of Biden.
Biden said in his interview with Hur that he made more from the book sale than he has ever made in his life.
“I ended up making more money selling that book than I’ve ever made in my entire life,” Biden said. ‘I was able to give away a million dollars to charity. I’ve always wanted to do that’.
Biden swore in a fiery press conference on February 8 after Hur’s bombshell report was released that he had not shared classified documents.