Special Counsel Robert Hur to testify publicly on findings from Biden classified records probe
Fox News
Special Counsel Robert Hur is expected to testify on Capitol Hill on his findings following months of investigating President Biden’s mishandling of classified records.
Hur will testify publicly at the House Judiciary Committee on Tuesday at 10 a.m.
Hur, who released his report to the public in February, did not recommend criminal charges against Biden for mishandling and retaining classified documents and stated that he wouldn’t bring charges against Biden even if he were not in the Oval Office.
Those records included classified documents about military and foreign policy in Afghanistan and other countries, among other records related to national security and foreign policy, which Hur said implicated “sensitive intelligence sources and methods.”
Hur did not recommend any charges against the president but did describe him as a “sympathetic, well-meaning elderly man with a poor memory” – a description that has raised significant concerns for Biden’s 2024 re-election campaign.
Biden has blasted Hur since the release of his report, saying his “memory is fine” and that he is the “most qualified person in this country to be president.”
Biden also fired back at Hur for suggesting he did not remember when his son Beau died.
“How dare he raise that?” Biden said at the time. “Frankly, when I was asked a question, I thought to myself, what’s that any of your d— business?”
“Let me tell you something… I swear, since the day he died, every single day… I wear the rosary he got from Our Lady –” Biden stopped, seemingly forgetting where the rosary was from.
In his report, Hur wrote: “He did not remember, even within several years, when his son Beau died.”
But two sources familiar with the investigation said it was Biden who brought up Beau’s death in the interview – not the special counsel.
Meanwhile, House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio; House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky.; and House Ways & Means Committee Chairman Jason Smith, R-Mo., have demanded the Justice Department turn over the transcript and any recordings of Biden’s interview.
The three committee leaders are leading the impeachment inquiry against Biden. They subpoenaed the materials last month.
The Justice Department has not turned over transcripts or audio recordings of Hur’s interview with the president despite the subpoena compelling their production by March 7, a House Judiciary spokesman said.
“We received a small production from DOJ, but not the transcripts or audio that we need and requested,” a House Judiciary spokesman told Fox News on Friday. “Our staff has all necessary clearances to review the contents of the President’s interview, which dealt with materials found in unsecured areas like garages, closets and commercial office space. We are evaluating next steps.”
A spokesperson from the Justice Department said, “The Department has been in touch with the Committees and anticipated responding to their subpoenas today.”
In a response obtained and viewed by Fox News, the DOJ added:
“We urge the Committee to join us in seeking to avoid conflict when there is, in fact, cooperation.”
“Given this record, we are disappointed that the Committee chose to serve a subpoena less than three weeks after Mr. Hur’s report was transmitted to Congress and only seven business days after the Department made clear it was working expeditiously to respond in good faith to congressional requests on this matter. This compressed time frame is not reasonable given the standard interagency review process the Department explained to the Committee.”
“Your subpoena is premature and unnecessary given the amount of information the Committee has already received and the Department’s proactive efforts to prepare for responding to congressional requests on this matter.”
Comer told Fox News Digital after the report was released that he wants “unfettered access to these documents to determine if President Biden’s retention of sensitive materials were used to help the Bidens’ influence peddling.”
Jordan, Comer and Smith are concerned that “Biden may have retained sensitive documents related to specific countries involving his family’s foreign business dealings.”