Special counsel Robert Hur outraged the White House by questioning President Biden’s recall in a confidential materials report.
Robert K. Hur is likely to defend a special counsel process that was established to protect sensitive cases from political intrusion when he testifies to Congress on Tuesday regarding his probe into President Biden’s handling of secret documents.
On the other side, Hur’s testimony will provide light on how the White House and the Justice Department have become increasingly estranged due to Attorney General Merrick Garland’s decision to assign special counsels to the most delicate politically charged matters.
Hur has not spoken publicly since last month’s special counsel report explaining why he will not seek charges against Biden for alleged secret document mishandling during his vice presidency. This will be his first public address. He stated in the report that a jury could perceive Biden as “a sympathetic, well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory,” rather than a somebody attempting to violate the law.
That picture of the 81-year-old president infuriated Biden and his senior advisors; questions about his mental capacity have emerged as a major factor in the election for president in 2024. White House officials to Biden accuse Garland of shielding herself from some of the Justice Department’s most difficult decisions by relying too heavily on special counsels, particularly in the investigation of the president’s son Hunter, and this accusation was bolstered by the report.
To many, Garland has been dealt an improbable hand: Unprecedented Justice Department investigations into Biden and former president Donald Trump as they prepare to face off in the 2024 election. The separate probe of Hunter Biden, whose legal troubles stem from years of drug addiction. A mandate to insulate the Justice Department from politics at a time when Trump and his allies repeatedly, and without evidence, claim the investigations of his actions are politically motivated.
In all these cases, the Justice Department says that following protocol and requests by prosecutors, Garland had no choice but to appoint special counsels.
As Biden and Trump prepare to compete in the 2024 election, Garland has been handed an unlikely hand: unprecedented investigations of each candidate by the Justice Department. Hunter Biden’s separate investigation, whose drug abuse has landed him in legal hot water for years. At a time when Trump and his his behavior are driven by political motives, there is a need to separate the Justice Department from politics. associates assert, without proof, that investigations into his behavior are driven by political motives, there is a need to separate the Justice Department from politics.
According to the Justice Department, Garland was compelled to designate special counsels in all of these instances according to protocol and prosecutors’ requests.
As Biden and Trump prepare to compete in the 2024 election, Garland has been handed an unlikely hand: unprecedented investigations of each candidate by the Justice Department. Hunter Biden’s separate investigation, whose drug abuse has landed him in legal hot water for years. At a time when Trump and his associates assert, without proof, that investigations into his behavior are driven by political motives, there is a need to separate the Justice Department from politics.
Those close to Biden and the White House, who asked to remain anonymous in order to discuss a delicate subject, hold a different view. Prosecutors David Weiss and Hunter Biden’s financial affairs were investigated for years by Garland, according to their accusations. Eventually, a plea agreement was reached, which was publicly humiliatingly rejected, and Weiss was appointed as special counsel. Two indictments were swiftly issued, one pertaining to taxes and the other to guns, which, according to Biden’s supporters, would not be applied to the majority of Americans in a comparable situation.
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The Hur report allegedly included improper and gratuitous attacks on the president’s memory and age, which is a political liability for both congressional oversight committees and voters during this election season, according to White House officials and Biden’s supporters. The prosecution should not press charges against Biden since he did not try to hinder the inquiry and returned the secret information quickly after their discovery last year; yet, other important judgments were overshadowed by the characterizations of Biden’s recollection.
People familiar with the exchanges in the White House say that some Biden aides wanted Garland to notify Congress that he had asked Hur for edits, but he should have done the opposite. They wanted Garland to question the memory references when he examined the report.
Several current and former Justice Department officials have spoken out in favor of including the memory details, but they are all doing so under the condition of anonymity because the subject matter is sensitive. Reportedly, Hur was compelled to provide an explanation for his decision to not press charges against Biden despite his determination that the latter had knowingly retained classified materials.
Thus, the special counsel report functioned as a declination note, a term commonly used in conventional criminal investigations. According to insiders from the Justice Department, these memoranda frequently include significantly more damaging details regarding the credibility of witnesses and the subjects of investigations compared to Hur’s report. Prosecutors are advised by the Justice Department to be careful with the reputations of individuals they are not charging, so those documents are kept private.
Justice Department and White House spokespeople did not want to be interviewed for this piece.
The Justice Department is adamant that Garland has been politically neutral and has followed rigorously to agency standards during his term, according to numerous current and former officials. According to some in the know, the White House is still very angry about it, which shows a divide in opinion about the role of federal law enforcement in these politically divisive times.
The only Cabinet office with an inherent conflict of interest is this agency, according to Robert Raben, a former associate attorney general in Clinton’s administration. I intended it that way. At a Cabinet meeting, there is only one secretary who can simultaneously protect us and perhaps investigate us. That friction explains everything about the dynamic between D.J. leadership, presidents, and White House counsel
Completely unseen
After staff found records from Biden’s tenure as VP at a think group he founded in 2017, the inquiry into Biden’s handling of secret material began in late 2022. An official from the National Archives and Records Administration—the institution in charge of keeping presidential records—was informed by the Justice Department after the aides turned over the materials to them.
John Lausch, a relic of the Trump administration and the U.S. attorney for Chicago, was soon after appointed by Garland to launch the preliminary investigation. Lausch informed Garland that special counsel was necessary after Biden’s attorneys informed him of two further finds of sensitive documents at the president’s house in Wilmington, Delaware.
Hur, who was a senior Justice Department official and U.S. attorney in Maryland during the Trump administration, was appointed by Garland on January 12, 2023. Hur is a Republican. Both the Republican and Democratic parties at the time praised Hur as a distinguished attorney and the ideal choice to lead the probe.
On the condition of anonymity, many individuals acquainted with the staffing said that he assembled a legal team that comprises Democrats and Republicans. Marc Krickbaum, who served as the United States attorney for the Southern District of Iowa during Trump’s presidency, was Hur’s deputy. Along with that, Hur brought in Tom Sullivan and Christina Hoffman, two attorneys who had previously assisted him when serving as an assistant U.S. attorney in Maryland.
Hur was selected by Garland as special counsel when he was working in private practice. The investigation was concluded last week, and he resigned from his position with the Justice Department.
Appointing a special counsel ensures that delicate, high-profile investigations remain objective and free from political interference. Although they still report to the attorney general, special counsels enjoy greater autonomy from senior Justice Department officials than regular federal prosecutors.
Noting that Biden was anticipated to compete for reelection at the time, Garland appointed Hur, citing “extraordinary circumstances.” Biden had selected Garland to his role. Just a few months ago, Garland had appointed special counsel Jack Smith to oversee two federal investigations against Trump. One probed his handling of classified documents after leaving the White House, and the other attempted to thwart Biden’s 2020 election triumph. Garland
had used the 2024 race as an analogy.
A liaison in the deputy attorney general’s office at Justice Department headquarters received information on the Biden probe from Hur and his staff around once every seven days. Two officials privy to the conversation said the someone would tell Garland of any critical information.
Special counsels are obligated to notify the Justice Department of any major, publicly visible possible investigative actions, like the appointment of a grand jury, the execution of a search warrant, or the interrogating of the president, in addition to providing comprehensive updates. Several current and former Justice Department officials who are acquainted with the process have stated that the attorney general is not supposed to intervene on incremental stages, regardless of whether they believe the special counsel should be taking
