The transcripts of the extensive two-day interview between President Joe Biden and Special Counsel Robert Hur regarding Biden’s handling of classified documents were recently released and scrutinized by The Washington Post. The revelations from the transcript diverge significantly from the initial portrayal presented in Hur’s report.
Initially, Hur characterized Biden as “a sympathetic, well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory,” a depiction that raised questions about Biden’s age and fitness for office among Republicans. Biden and his allies criticized Hur for bringing up the subject of his late son Beau Biden, although Hur claimed that Biden himself initiated the topic.
However, the transcript reviewed by The Washington Post paints a different picture. Contrary to Hur’s report, Biden accurately recalled the day of Beau’s death, stating, “What month did Beau die? Oh God, May 30,” and later inquiring about the year. The conversation seemed respectful and cooperative, with Hur expressing condolences for Biden’s loss.
President Biden was in the early stages of his interview with special counsel Robert Hur when the topic of Beau Biden came up — initially with Biden raising it and later as Biden was attempting to get his chronological bearings and wondered aloud when, exactly, it was that his son died.
“What month did Beau die? Oh God, May 30,” he said, naming the correct day, according to a transcript of the exchange reviewed by The Washington Post.
Two others in the room chimed in with the year, and Biden questioned, “Was it 2015 when he died?”
Not long after the exchange, Hur suggested they consider taking a brief break.
“No,” Biden responded, before launching into a long explanation of Beau’s death and its impact on him deciding not to run for president in 2016. “Let me just keep going to get it done.”
The interaction between Biden and Hur appeared polite and amicable, with Biden frequently engaging in light-hearted banter with prosecutors. While Biden occasionally struggled to recall specific details, such as daily routine activities from several years ago, the overall tone was cordial and cooperative.
At times, Biden digressed into unrelated topics, such as discussing his vintage Chevrolet Corvette and electric vehicles, prompting Hur to steer the conversation back to the matter at hand. Despite these tangents, the exchange remained congenial.
Once, it was while lamenting that he [Biden] could drive his vintage Chevrolet Corvette only the length of his driveway. The other time was during a lengthy exchange over the torque of electric vehicles.
“By the way, you know how it works?” Biden asked Hur. “It’s really cool.”
Hur remarked, “Sir, I’d love — I would love, love to hear much more about this, but I do have a few more questions to get through.”
“You step your foot on the accelerator all the way down until it gets about six, seven grand,” Biden continued. “Then all the sudden it will say ‘launch.’ All you do is take your foot off the brake.”
The transcript then indicates “(Makes car sound)” as well as “(Laughter).”
“It’s on my bucket list,” Hur responded, before turning to questions regarding classified documents that had been discovered at the Penn Biden Center.
