In a recent development, President Joe Biden addressed allegations concerning the mishandling of classified documents and faced questions regarding his memory capabilities, prompted by the Department of Justice Special Counsel Robert Hur’s investigation.
During an unplanned press conference, President Biden explicitly denied having memory issues, expressing indignation at the suggestion that he could not recall the date of his son’s passing, stating, “How dare he bring that up?”
The inquiry led by Special Counsel Hur found that President Biden had not managed classified documents appropriately, specifically mentioning files related to Afghanistan’s military and foreign policy from his time as vice president. However, the investigation’s report, spanning 345 pages, did not advocate for legal action against Biden. It highlighted that the president demonstrated “significant limitations” in recalling events, an issue that became evident when he mistakenly referred to Abdul Fattah al-Sisi as the “president of Mexico” amid discussions on his cognitive sharpness.
Appointed by Biden’s Attorney General Merrick Garland, Hur, a Republican and Trump nominee for Federal Prosecutor in Maryland, noted discrepancies in Biden’s recollections, including the period he served as vice president and the year of his son Beau’s death in 2015. Biden, defending his memory, mentioned his distraction due to involvement in an international crisis during his October interview with the special counsel, aligning with the Israel-Gaza conflict.
Further findings suggested Biden shared confidential notes with a memoir ghostwriter, a claim he refuted. The special counsel’s report expressed that prosecuting Biden for mishandling documents would be difficult, portraying him as a “sympathetic, well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory.”
“I did not share classified information,” Biden insisted. “I did not share it with my ghostwriter.”
Amid concerns over Biden’s age as the White House election approaches, he was reassuring about his competency, emphasizing his role in the nation’s recovery, “I am well-meaning… and elderly. I know what I’m doing. I put this country back on its feet.”
Controversy also arose from the discovery of classified documents in Biden’s garage, which Biden attributed to his staff’s oversight, denying awareness of their placement. His legal representation criticized the special counsel’s report for its “highly prejudicial language” regarding Biden’s memory recall of past events.
The classified documents were located in Biden’s Wilmington, Delaware home, and his previous private office, contrasting a separate case involving former President Donald Trump, accused of mishandling classified documents post-presidency, with a trial set for May. The Hur report drew distinctions between Biden’s cooperation with government archivists and Trump’s alleged actions. Trump is seeking a dismissal of his trial by the Justice Department prosecutor.