(NewsNation) — Special counsel Robert Hur is testifying before the House Judiciary Committee to answer questions about his federal investigation into President Joe Biden’s handling of classified documents.
Hur, in his opening remarks, said he aimed neither to sanitize nor disparage the president in justifying his decision not to recommend charges.
“The need to show my work was especially strong here. The Attorney General had appointed me to investigate the actions of the Attorney General’s boss, the sitting President of the United States. I knew that for my decision to be credible, I could not simply announce that I recommended no criminal charges and leave it at that. I needed to explain why,” he said.
In his own opening remarks, Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, the chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, maintained that Biden “broke the law.”
“But because he’s a forgetful old man who would appear sympathetic to a jury Mr. Hur decided not to bring charges,” Jordan said.
Jordan, during the hearing, played footage from a press conference where Biden defended himself, insisting to reports that his “memory is fine” and that he’s the most qualified to be president. It also included a moment heavily criticized by conservatives, in which he accidentally called the Egyptian leader Abdel Fattah El-Sisi as the “president of Mexico.”
Rep. Jerry Nadler, D-New York, meanwhile, said Hur’s report represents a “complete and total” exoneration of Biden.
Hur was appointed by Attorney General Merrick Garland as special counsel in January 2023 following the initial discovery of the classified records.
After a yearlong investigation, he chose not to recommend any criminal charges against the president. Hur said it would be difficult to convict Biden because the president would likely present himself to a jury as a “sympathetic, well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory.”
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President Joe Biden speaks at a campaign rally Saturday, March 9, 2024, at Pullman Yards in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta) -
FILE – U.S. Attorney Robert Hur arrives at U.S. District Court in Baltimore on Nov. 21, 2019. Attorney General Merrick Garland on Thursday, Jan. 12, 2023, appointed Hur as a special counsel to investigate the presence of documents with classified markings found at President Joe Biden’s home in Wilmington, Del., and at an office in Washington. (AP Photo/Steve Ruark, File) -
FILE – Then-Principal Associate Deputy Attorney General Robert Hur speaks during a press briefing at the White House in Washington, July 27, 2017. Hur, the former Trump-appointed U.S. attorney in Maryland, will lead the investigation, taking over from the top Justice Department prosecutor in Chicago, John Lausch, who was earlier assigned by the department to investigate the matter and who recommended to Garland last week that a special counsel be appointed. Hur is to begin his work soon. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File) -
President Joe Biden speaks in the Diplomatic Reception Room of the White House, Tuesday, Feb. 8, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci) -
This image, contained in the report from special counsel Robert Hur, shows the box where classified Afghanistan documents were found in the garage of President Joe Biden in Wilmington, Del., during a search by the FBI on Dec. 21, 2022. (Justice Department via AP) -
This image, contained in the report from special counsel Robert Hur, shows notebooks in a file cabinet under a printer that were seized in first-floor home office of President Joe Biden in Wilmington, Del., on Jan. 20, 2023, during a search by FBI agents. (Justice Department via AP) -
This image, contained in the report from special counsel Robert Hur, shows the envelope labeled “Eyes Only” with a handwritten note reading “VPOTUS,” that contained classified documents that were found in Box 3 of documents housed at the Penn Biden Center in Washington. (Justice Department via AP)
Hur said he and his team conducted “a thorough, independent investigation” where they identified evidence that Biden “willfully retained classified materials” after the end of his vice presidency. However, they did not have enough evidence that rose to the level of “proof beyond a reasonable doubt.”
“Because the evidence fell short of that standard, I declined to recommend criminal charges against Mr. Biden,” Hur said.
Lawmakers have zeroed in on the description of Biden’s memory, with Republicans using it to make the case that Biden should not be reelected. Democrats have accused Hur of issuing an inappropriate report and commentary about Biden’s age.
On Tuesday, Hur explained his reasoning for including mentions of the president’s memory in the report, saying that he could not make the determination over whether Biden “willfully” kept the documents without assessing his state of mind.
“I had to consider the President’s memory and overall mental state, and how a jury likely would perceive his memory and mental state in a criminal trial,” he said. “These are the types of issues prosecutors analyze every day. And because these issues were important to my ultimate decision, I had to include a discussion of them in my report to the Attorney General.”
Certain evidence, and the president himself, Hur said, put his memory “squarely at issue.” Examples Hur pointed to included recorded conversations Biden had with a ghostwriter, in which he said he didn’t remember finding classified materials in his home.
“My assessment in the report about the relevance of the President’s memory was necessary and accurate and fair,” Hur said.
In his report, Hur described differences between the Trump and Biden classified documents cases, saying Trump also faces allegations of obstructing justice and enlisting others to destroy evidence and then to lie about it.
Nadler noted the differences between the two cases during the hearing, saying Trump was unable to take advantage of the “many, many chances” he was given to avoid the charges against him.
The Hill contributed to this report.
