A special counsel concluded Thursday that Joe Biden should not face criminal charges for withholding classified documents, but painted a damaging portrait of the US president as an “old man with a good memory.”
The statement lifted a legal cloud hanging over Biden as he seeks re-election against Donald Trump, who is facing a criminal investigation into the removal of a large volume of classified documents after losing the White House and then refusing to cooperate with investigators. .
However, in a shock to the Biden campaign, special counsel Robert Hurr said his investigation had found the president to be so mentally impaired that he could not even remember dates from his time as vice president under Barack Obama and the dates of his son Beau's death. Cancer in 2015.
A Trump spokeswoman, Carolyn Leavitt, responded by posting on X: “If his memory has 'significant limitations' how can we trust his ability to lead our country?!?!”
The White House said Thursday it was “pleased” not to file charges against the 81-year-old Biden. However, it added, “We do not agree with several erroneous and inappropriate comments in the Special Counsel's report.”
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Hurr was appointed last year by Biden's attorney general, Merrick Garland, after classified materials were found at Biden's home and former office in Wilmington, Delaware.
The 388-page report said Biden “intentionally retained and released classified material” during the time he left the vice presidency — before defeating Trump to become president in 2020.
Hurr — previously nominated by Trump to be attorney general of the state of Maryland — said FBI agents recovered documents about the military and foreign policy in Afghanistan and other matters.
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However, “we conclude there is insufficient evidence to warrant a conviction and decline to recommend prosecution of Mr. Biden for his retention of classified Afghan documents,” Hur said.
Harr later said a jury would not want to convict Biden, who he told investigators was a “sympathetic, well-intentioned old man.”
“It is difficult to convince a jury that a former president — who is in his eighties — should be convicted of a serious crime that requires a deliberate state of mind,” the special counsel said.
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Hurr noted clear differences in the Biden and Trump classified documents scandals — specifically that “after being given multiple opportunities to turn over classified documents and avoid prosecution, Mr. Trump allegedly did the opposite.”
“According to the indictment, he not only refused to return documents for months, but also obstructed justice by hiring others to destroy evidence and then lie about it.
“In return, Mr. Biden turned over classified documents to the National Archives and the Department of Justice, consented to searches of multiple locations, including his home, sat for a voluntary interview, and cooperated with the investigation in other ways.”
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Trump, 77, pleaded not guilty in June to multiple charges including illegal possession of national security information, conspiracy to obstruct justice and making false statements.
Trump was indicted by another special counsel, Jack Smith, and after leaving the White House, accused of endangering national security by keeping nuclear and defense information top secret.
Trump kept the files, which included Pentagon, CIA and National Security Agency records, unsecured at his Mar-a-Lago home in Florida and thwarted official efforts to retrieve them, according to the indictment.
He is scheduled to go on trial in Florida in May.
