Special Counsel Robert Hur clarified during his testimony on Tuesday that his report did not exonerate President Biden in his handling of classified materials, despite assertions made by some Democrats.
Rep. Jerry Nadler, the ranking member of the House Judiciary Committee, had initially stated in his opening remarks that Hur’s report “represents the complete and total exoneration of President Biden.” However, when questioned about this claim later in the hearing, Hur refuted it.
“That is not what the report says,” Hur stated, emphasizing that the term “exoneration” did not appear in his report.
Similarly, when Rep. Pramila Jayapal argued that the investigation resulted in a complete exoneration of President Biden, Hur reiterated that the word “exoneration” was not part of his task as a prosecutor and did not feature in the report.
Hur’s testimony shed light on the contents of his February report, which did not recommend charges against Biden for his handling of classified documents. Although the report highlighted Biden’s lapses in memory during his interview, it also noted the president’s repeated statements expressing no intention to retain classified materials.
Democrats seized upon Hur’s testimony to draw distinctions between Biden’s handling of classified documents and former President Trump’s actions. They emphasized Biden’s cooperation with Hur’s investigation compared to Trump’s refusal to turn over classified information, which has led to Trump facing federal counts in Florida related to his handling of such documents.
