Hur Testifies Biden Wasn’t Exonerated by DOJ Report

Plus: Inflation Spin Incoming

Hur Testifies Biden Wasn’t Exonerated by DOJ Report

Fox News reported that former Special Counsel Robert Hur testified before the House on Tuesday, stating President Biden “willfully retained classified materials,” including documents on national security and foreign policy. Despite a bevy of evidence, no charges were recommended due to insufficient proof and general DOJ policy not to indict a sitting president. Hur cited Biden's memory and mental state, describing him as an “elderly man with a poor memory.” He defended his assessment amid concerns raised for Biden's re-election campaign.

The hearing also witnessed political exchanges. Republicans highlighted Biden's mishandling of classified information, while Democrats criticized former President Trump's mental state and attempted to emphasize Biden's “exoneration.” However, The Hill reported on remarks from Hur that the report was not an exoneration:

Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-N.Y.) the ranking member of the House Judiciary Committee, used his opening remarks to say Hur’s report “represents the complete and total exoneration of President Biden.” 

But when asked specifically about those remarks later in the hearing, Hur told Rep. Kevin Kiley (R-Calif.) that was not the case.

“That is not what the report says,” Hur said. “The report is not an exoneration. That word does not appear in my report.”

Hur similarly pushed back during an exchange with Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.), who argued the special counsel’s investigation “resulted in a complete exoneration of President Joe Biden.”

“I need to go back and make sure that I take note of a word that you used, exoneration. That is not a word that appears in the report. That’s not part of my task as a prosecutor,” Hur said as Jayapal interjected.

“You exonerated him,” Jayapal said.

“We did not exonerate him. That word does not appear in the report,” Hur responded.

House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan summarized the hearing’s purpose in identifying discrepancies between the report and its outcome of no charges, saying, “Mr. Hur produced a 345-page report. But in the end, it boils down to a few key facts. Joe Biden kept classified information. Joe Biden failed to properly secure classified information. And Joe Biden shared classified information with people he wasn't supposed to.”

In Today’s BRIGHT

Substack Spotlight: Nineteen Fifty-Five
Inflation Spin Incoming
Kids in England Will No Longer Be Given Puberty Blockers
On Wednesdays We Wear Pink