Biden will not face criminal charges for possession of classified documents

Robert Hur stated in the report that he decided not to pursue criminal charges following a 15-month investigation. The main reason for this decision was that nothing proves Biden’s willful intent to illegally keep classified information.

The report noted that Biden cooperated with prosecutors throughout the investigation and returned classified documents found in his home.

The special prosecutor also cited Biden’s age and memory in explaining why he did not pursue charges, calling the sitting president a “well-meaning elderly man with a poor memory.”

Members of Biden’s legal team found the documents, which were marked “classified,” at the offices of Biden’s Washington think tank and at his personal residence in Delaware.

Robert Hur served as Maryland’s top federal prosecutor during President Trump’s administration and was appointed by Attorney General Merrick Garland to lead the Biden investigation in January 2023.

Hoor’s report detailed how FBI agents found materials in “the garage, offices and basement of Mr. Biden’s home in Wilmington, Delaware.” Among those materials were classified documents, including some labeled “top secret/secret” related to U.S. military and foreign policy in Afghanistan, as well as notebooks with Biden’s handwriting. Hoore’s report also includes photographs showing various parts of Biden’s homes, materials at issue in the investigation, and other documents.

Hoore notes that Biden’s memory was “severely limited” when he was interviewed by the special prosecutor’s office.

Specifically, the report says Biden forgot what year his term as vice president in President Barack Obama’s administration began and when his term ended, and what year Biden’s son Beau died.

President Biden’s lawyers said his lapses in memory are not unusual for someone trying to describe events that happened years ago. “Such comments have no place in a Department of Justice report,” the attorneys wrote in comments included in Robert Hoor’s report.

After Hoor’s report was published, Biden’s attorneys criticized the special prosecutor for overstepping his authority. “It was clear from the beginning that criminal charges were not warranted,” said Biden’s personal attorney Bob Bauer.

Republicans have long drawn parallels between Hur’s investigation and that of special prosecutor Jack Smith, who last year brought charges against former President Donald Trump over his handling of classified documents at his private Mar-a-Lago residence.

Hur emphasized the difference between the two investigations in his report, namely that Biden cooperated with the investigation and returned the documents, while Trump did not hand over the documents when asked and then tried to cover it up.

Republicans in Congress did not fail to capitalize on Hoor’s report, saying that the decision not to pursue criminal charges was evidence of political bias against their party’s likely presidential candidate in 2024, and that details about Biden’s memory problems proved he was unfit for office.

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