President Joe Biden will not face criminal charges for his handling of classified documents, according to the special counsel’s report released on Thursday.
The special counsel, Robert Hur, was appointed by Attorney General Merrick Garland in January 2023 to investigate Biden’s possession of classified documents that were found at his office and residence in late 2022.
The documents, which dated back to the Obama administration, contained sensitive information about Afghanistan, Iran, and other foreign policy issues. Hur’s report concluded that Biden’s practices “present serious risks to national security” and that he violated the Espionage Act, which prohibits the willful retention and disclosure of national defense information.
However, the counsel decided not to prosecute him, citing several factors that made it unlikely to obtain a conviction beyond a reasonable doubt. These factors included the lack of clear evidence of the president’s intent, the difficulty of proving the harm caused by his actions, the ambiguity of the classification system, and the potential sympathy of the jury for Biden, who is now 81 years old and has a history of memory lapses.
“Our investigation uncovered evidence that President Biden willfully retained and disclosed classified materials after his vice presidency when he was a private citizen,” the special counsel wrote in his report. However it “does not establish Mr. Biden’s guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.”
Hur’s report also revealed several shocking details about the president’s memory, which it said “was significantly limited” during their interviews in 2023. According to him, Biden could not remember basic facts about his vice presidency, such as when his term began and ended, or when his son Beau died. He also could not recall the details of the classified documents he had in his possession, or how he obtained them.
The report also suggested that Biden’s age and presentation would make it more difficult to convince a jury that he was guilty of willfully committing a crime.
“We have also considered that, at trial, Mr. Biden would likely present himself to a jury, as he did during our interview of him, as a sympathetic, well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory. Based on our direct interactions with and observations of him, he is someone for whom many jurors will want to identify reasonable doubt. It would be difficult to convince a jury that they should convict him…..”
The president responded to the report on the day of its release, saying he was “pleased” with the outcome and that he “cooperated completely” with the investigation. He also defended his memory and mental acuity, saying he had no trouble performing his duties as president.
“My memory is fine. I have no problem remembering the important things that matter to the American people and to the world.”
