Special counsel says Joe Biden ‘wilfully’ held on to classified material

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The attorney general commissioned a special prosecutor to investigate President Joe Biden's possession of classified materials found in his Delaware home and at a think tank office in Washington DC. The prosecutor determined that although Biden deliberately held onto these materials, he should not be charged with a crime. The findings of this investigation were released in a report on Thursday.

Robert Hur, who was appointed by Trump and used to be the US Attorney for Maryland, was assigned as a special counsel. He did not suggest that Biden should be accused of any crimes. Hur explained that there were important "mitigating factors" involved, which implied that there was no reason to pursue charges against Biden. Hur also mentioned that if Biden were not the president and could be prosecuted according to Department of Justice policy, charges still would not have been necessary.

According to the Republican prosecutor, Mr Biden could not recall many details about the documents when he was questioned by investigators. The prosecutor defended his conclusion by saying that there was insufficient evidence to persuade a jury that Mr Biden had deliberately kept the materials, mainly because the president had been very cooperative with the investigation.

He mentioned that his willingness to cooperate with our investigation, which included informing the government that the Afghanistan documents were in his Delaware garage, could persuade certain jurors that he didn't intentionally break the law as required by the statute - rather, it was an honest mistake.

While he decided not to press charges against the president and declared that there was insufficient evidence to prove his guilt beyond a doubt, the prosecutor, who was a member of the Republican Party, criticized the 81-year-old president in his report. He described the president as a person who, in the eyes of the jury, would come across as an elderly gentleman with good intentions but a bad memory, taking aim at him with his words.

Mr. Biden expressed his satisfaction through a statement, regarding Mr. Hur's decision of not charging him. He also mentioned that this was the result he had anticipated from the beginning.

Mr Biden stated that the investigation took a long time and spanned over 40 years, including when he was a young Senator in the 1970s. He fully cooperated with the investigation, did not obstruct it in any way and did not seek any delays. He also mentioned that he was very committed to helping Mr Hur with the investigation, so much so that he sat for personal interviews shortly after the terrorist attack in Israel on 7 October 2023.

Throughout my time serving the public, I have consistently prioritized the protection of America's security. I am committed to these matters and my dedication to them has never been in doubt," he stated.

Richard Sauber, an attorney at the White House who works as Special Counsel for Mr Biden, commended Mr Hur for acknowledging that the president had been completely cooperative with his legal team right from the start. They even self-reported the finding of classified documents to make sure they were returned to the National Archives where they belong.

The speaker mentioned that the President did not cause obstruction and that he has been very helpful during the 15-month investigation. The statement emphasized that President Biden values classified information and works hard to safeguard it. Additionally, the speaker stated that he has dedicated his career to protecting America's national security and foreign policy interests and keeping her secrets safe.

According to Mr. Hur, certain materials were kept by Mr. Biden after he finished serving as the vice president in 2017. These include documents that were labeled as classified about foreign policy and military operations in Afghanistan. Additionally, notebooks with Mr. Biden's personal handwritten entries about matters concerning national security and foreign policy that involve sensitive intelligence sources and methods were found in various locations of his home in Wilmington, Delaware such as the garage, offices, and basement den.

Last year, the special counsel was chosen by Attorney General Merrick Garland. They recently revealed that most of the items that are now considered classified were actually handwritten notes taken by Mr Biden when he was vice president. These notes were kept in areas that were not secure in his home and were used when he wrote his 2017 memoir, Promise Me, Dad.

According to Mr. Hur, Mr. Biden permitted his book's ghostwriter to read through his notebooks, which is legally considered the act of sharing classified information with someone who's authorized. Additionally, Mr. Hur disclosed that documents from the Obama administration were also shared with the said ghostwriter.

However, he pointed out that Mr. Biden's written account did not include any data that was deemed classified. Nonetheless, he reached the decision that the former vice president was unaware that the content in the notebooks had been classified. Furthermore, he expressed that a panel of jurors may very well conclude that Mr. Biden's conduct was not deliberate.

The report from the prosecutor stated that there was not enough proof to find Mr. Biden guilty of any wrongdoing. This was because he has held high offices, including the Vice President and President, which gave him permission to have confidential information in his personal space.

In simpler terms, he stated that the strongest scenario for pressing charges would be related to Mr. Biden mentioning finding classified information in a rental property back in 2017. However, the expert also determined that Mr. Biden could probably create enough uncertainty in the jurors' minds regarding whether he deliberately held onto this information by asserting that he had forgotten about it after conferring with his ghostwriter.

According to the statement, it was suggested that finding classified documents at home less than a month after leaving office could have been seen as a normal event for someone who had been constantly exposed to such documents for eight years as vice president, even in their personal space. The speaker also mentioned that in recorded discussions with their ghostwriter, which were reviewed by investigators, the documents in question were not discussed.

Additionally, he proposed that Mr. Biden could make the case that he had simply overlooked the documents, especially given that they were found in a severely damaged container among various household items.

In his report, Mr Hur provided information on the way Mr Biden conducted his interviews, which seemed to be specifically designed to support the allegations made by Mr Trump and his supporters that the president lacks the capacity to perform his duties effectively.

Once, he stated that Mr. Biden couldn't recall the year his son, Beau Biden, died from brain cancer. He also recounted an interview where the president appeared to struggle with recollecting the time period he served as vice president.

Robert Bauer, who works as the personal lawyer of the president, strongly criticized Mr. Hur's investigative methods in a public announcement. He also implied that the special counsel was acting under tremendous stress resulting from present political circumstances, which led him to deviate from the Justice Department protocols. This drift was mostly evident in Mr. Hur's decision to mention unfavorable information about Mr. Biden, even though he couldn't find sufficient evidence to implicate him.

During the entire procedure, the main objective has been to ensure that the investigation remains impartial and free from any external influence. The Special Counsel was compelled to conclude that there was insufficient evidence to press criminal charges after considering the legal and factual aspects of the case. However, there were alternate courses of action available to him that should have been influenced by the regulations and conventions of the Department, but regrettably, he did not choose the correct ones.

The negative details found in the report and the advice to not file criminal charges could be used by Republicans who support former President Donald Trump to criticize Mr. Biden. Trump is currently dealing with legal issues regarding unauthorized possession of defense information in his Florida residence and interfering with a grand jury investigation into how the documents got there after his presidency ended.

Mr. Trump expressed his dissatisfaction and spread misinformation in his statement regarding the decision to not charge Mr. Biden. He claimed that this decision showed there is a biased justice system that favors certain individuals. Additionally, he falsely accused the prosecutor in charge of Mr. Biden's case, Jack Smith, of engaging in unconstitutional selective prosecution.

Although Mr. Hur included content that Mr. Biden's lawyer criticized as unnecessary and disrespectful, the former US Attorney of Maryland made sure to highlight the differences between the cases against Mr. Trump and Mr. Biden. Mr. Hur emphasized that there were multiple significant distinctions between the two cases that were very apparent.

According to him, the accusations mentioned in Mr. Trump's indictment carry more weight compared to those against Mr. Biden. If proven true, it would make the situation worse as there are serious aggravating factors involved. One of the most significant factors is that Mr. Trump had numerous opportunities to return classified documents and prevent himself from being prosecuted. However, he refused to do so and even obstructed justice by convincing others to destroy evidence and lie about it for several months.

On the other hand, it was mentioned that Mr. Biden did something different. He delivered confidential papers to the National Archives and the Department of Justice, agreed to let them search multiple places such as his residences, voluntarily participated in an interview, and supported the investigation by doing other things.