Live updates: Special counsel report on Biden's handling of classified documents released
3 min ago
DEMOCRATS DEFEND BIDEN'S MEMORY AND SAY REPORT WON'T AFFECT THE 2024 ELECTION
From CNN’s Morgan Rimmer
While Republicans are highlighting mentions of Joe Biden’s memory lapses in the special counsel report [https://www.cnn.com/politics/live-news/biden-classified-documents-report-02-08-24/h_8837daa91ed98cbf20d32c1b2a6a30d7] on classified documents, Democrats in the Senate are defending the president.
Democratic Sen. Mark Kelly told CNN he has not seen any signs Biden has a “poor memory." Robert Hur's report said Biden appeared to struggle to remember key details and dates.
Sen. Richard Blumenthal, though admitting he has not read the report, dismissed some of the claims that question Biden’s memory, saying, "I've talked to him at hours on end as recently as a couple of months ago" and the president is "as sharp as ever."
Blumenthal said this will not affect the 2024 election.
“I think it has no effect politically. People are going to make their judgments about President Biden without looking at this report,” he said. “You know, all of us make slips. And he has other characteristics of speech. You all have them. Some are endearing, and I find his completely innocuous. But the American people are going to judge on the merits.”
14 min ago
BIDEN'S ALLIES, REBUTTING MEMORY CLAIMS, POINT OUT INTERVIEW OCCURRED DAY AFTER START OF ISRAEL-HAMAS CRISIS
From CNN's Kevin Liptak
[https://dynaimage.cdn.cnn.com/cnn/digital-images/org/d049420a-7fec-4477-a356-b075ca282b33.jpg]President Joe Biden delivers remarks at the Carpenters International Training Center in Las Vegas on December 8. Elizabeth Frantz/Reuters
As President Joe Biden and his allies work to rebut the most damning claims about his memory contained in special counsel Robert Hur’s report, they are pointing to the timing of his interview to demonstrate a leader preoccupied with world events rather than instant historical recall.
Biden sat for the interview on October 8 and 9, as he was consumed with the fallout of the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7. In that stretch of days, Biden spoke by telephone with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, convened meetings with his national security team and delivered statements on the situation in the Middle East.
"I was in the middle of handling an international crisis," Biden said Thursday about an hour after the report was released.
His written statement made a similar point.
“I was so determined to give the Special Counsel what they needed that I went forward with five hours of in-person interviews over two days on October 8th and 9th of last year, even though Israel had just been attacked on October 7th and I was in the middle of handling an international crisis,” Biden wrote in a statement Thursday.
In a letter to the special counsel, Biden’s lawyers sought to put his interview in that context.
“In the lead up to the interview, the President was conducting calls with heads of state, Cabinet members, members of Congress, and meeting repeatedly with his national security team,” White House counsel Richard Sauber and Biden personal attorney Bob Bauer wrote a five-page letter to Hur on Monday, saying that raising issues with Biden’s memory was “entirely superfluous.”
18 min ago
SENATE REPUBLICANS JUMP ON SPECIAL COUNSEL'S DESCRIPTION OF BIDEN'S MEMORY
From CNN’s Morgan Rimmer
[https://dynaimage.cdn.cnn.com/cnn/digital-images/org/53417cb4-c96e-4b9b-8512-d6aa65c4f17a.jpg]President Joe Biden and Special Counsel Robert Hur. Getty Images
Senate Republicans jumped on the special counsel’s description of President Joe Biden as a “sympathetic, well-meaning elderly man with a poor memory” and alleged a double standard between the handling of Biden’s classified documents case and former President Donald Trump’s case.
Here's what some of them said on X:
“Is this a joke?” GOP Sen. Thom Tillis wrote [https://urldefense.com/v3/__https:/x.com/senthomtillis/status/1755684783877722552?s=46&t=0kSbRS3cR7LAmIrwwezTmQ__;!!AQdq3sQhfUj4q8uUguY!mz0btGZFrpoxwUoxbnFH27LhzZ3Zxj8AfDC87tHqfdvHJTIoIkVtzykXerOlzv5J-vRljwREcIQgcQLGCXqjKok%24] on social media, reposting several quotes from the report about Biden’s memory. Sen. Josh Hawley said in his own post [https://urldefense.com/v3/__https:/x.com/hawleymo/status/1755689276757418058?s=46&t=0kSbRS3cR7LAmIrwwezTmQ__;!!AQdq3sQhfUj4q8uUguY!mz0btGZFrpoxwUoxbnFH27LhzZ3Zxj8AfDC87tHqfdvHJTIoIkVtzykXerOlzv5J-vRljwREcIQgcQLGs2LfBMo%24], “Biden doesn’t remember his time as VP? But somehow he’s qualified to be President for another 4 years?”Sen. Eric Schmitt pointed [https://urldefense.com/v3/__https:/x.com/eric_schmitt/status/1755692573933395975?s=46&t=0kSbRS3cR7LAmIrwwezTmQ__;!!AQdq3sQhfUj4q8uUguY!mz0btGZFrpoxwUoxbnFH27LhzZ3Zxj8AfDC87tHqfdvHJTIoIkVtzykXerOlzv5J-vRljwREcIQgcQLGdKafWFw%24] to the same section with a siren emoji, quoting, “‘He did not remember when he was Vice President.’”Sen. Tommy Tuberville also jumped on the description of Biden’s memory, writing [https://urldefense.com/v3/__https:/x.com/ttuberville/status/1755693992618885171?s=46&t=0kSbRS3cR7LAmIrwwezTmQ__;!!AQdq3sQhfUj4q8uUguY!htI9QUp33o_6yZznkFMkEfmZfApwP_rBv-sdX_Bh-cSM5foVlsMYyZwB3E-M_ish-aAvAhhDER6mOnCoYgRbJJk%24], “According to this investigation, @JoeBiden doesn't remember being VP. Does anyone believe he's running the country now as POTUS?”Meanwhile, Sen. Markwayne Mullin said [https://urldefense.com/v3/__https:/x.com/senmullin/status/1755689370818933023?s=46&t=0kSbRS3cR7LAmIrwwezTmQ__;!!AQdq3sQhfUj4q8uUguY!mz0btGZFrpoxwUoxbnFH27LhzZ3Zxj8AfDC87tHqfdvHJTIoIkVtzykXerOlzv5J-vRljwREcIQgcQLGmlbwOBg%24], “The special counsel report confirms that Biden ‘willfully retained and disclosed classified materials’ for years before he entered the White House. Meanwhile, Trump’s Mar-a-Lago home was raided by the FBI and he’s facing a weaponized DOJ. A clear two-tiered system of justice.” Sen. JD Vance also alleged [https://urldefense.com/v3/__https:/x.com/jdvance1/status/1755695204059820271?s=46&t=0kSbRS3cR7LAmIrwwezTmQ__;!!AQdq3sQhfUj4q8uUguY!htI9QUp33o_6yZznkFMkEfmZfApwP_rBv-sdX_Bh-cSM5foVlsMYyZwB3E-M_ish-aAvAhhDER6mOnCoF0H31aQ%24] a double standard in how the Department of Justice handled Biden and Trump’s classified documents cases. “Biden gives away classified information as a private citizen and gets a pass. Trump ‘mishandled’ classified info of his own government and they want him to die in prison,” he said in a post on X.
6 min ago
HOW THE SPECIAL COUNSEL'S REPORT MENTIONED BIDEN'S MEMORY LAPSES
From CNN's Kyle Feldscher
Special counsel Robert Hur’s report highlighted one of President Joe Biden’s biggest political weaknesses – questions over whether the 81-year-old president is mentally fit for office.
Hur’s report states Biden had frequent memory lapses during his interviews with investigators, including not being able to recall when his son Beau died or exactly when Biden was vice president, and he could not remember details of a debate over Afghanistan that appeared very important to him.
There are multiple passages in the report that detail when “Mr. Biden’s memory was significantly limited.” That forgetfulness was part of Hur’s explanation for not charging the president with any crimes.
“Mr. Biden would likely present himself to a jury, as he did during our interview of him, as a sympathetic, well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory,” they wrote, adding that Biden “is someone for whom many jurors will want to identify reasonable doubt.”
Biden’s age and memory are a massive political problem for the president and certain passages from the report will likely exacerbate that issue.
What Biden's team has said: Biden’s personal and White House attorneys pushed back against the characterization, calling the details “entirely superfluous.”
“We do not believe that the report's treatment of President Biden's memory is accurate or appropriate,” wrote White House counsel Richard Sauber and Bob Bauer.
14 min ago
BIDEN MAKES FIRST PUBLIC COMMENT ON SPECIAL COUNSEL'S REPORT
From CNN's Michael Williams and Nikki Carvajal
[https://dynaimage.cdn.cnn.com/cnn/digital-images/org/ca718edd-e148-4522-bbec-86943a9e5183.jpg]US President Joe Biden delivers remarks at the House Democratic Caucus Issues Conference in Leesburg, Virginia, on Thursday. Evelyn Hockstein/Reuters
In his first public comment following the release of the special counsel report examining his handling of classified documents, President Joe Biden on Thursday reiterated that the report decided against moving forward with any criminal charges.
"Bottom line is the special counsel in my case decided against moving forward with any charges," Biden said at the House Democratic Caucus Issues Conference in Leesburg, Virginia.
He declared the matter of his classified document handling “closed," and said he was “pleased to see they reached the conclusion… no charges should be brought in this case."
The president also mentioned how he was interviewed in the immediate aftermath of the October 7 attack on Israel, appearing to excuse memory lapses during his interview which were mentioned in the report.
He also focused on the report making “clear the stark differences between this case and Donald Trump.” He said the special counsel noted that while he returned the documents “to avoid and avoided prosecution, Mr. Trump allegedly did the opposite.”
24 min ago
TRUMP RAILS AGAINST SPECIAL COUNSEL'S DECISION TO NOT BRING CHARGES AGAINST BIDEN
From CNN's Kate Sullivan
[https://dynaimage.cdn.cnn.com/cnn/digital-images/org/beb02379-c3fb-4dc3-8748-f665e556f8a4.jpg]Former President Donald Trump speaks at his Mar-a-Lago estate Thursday in Palm Beach, Florida. Rebecca Blackwell/AP
Former President Donald Trump railed against the decision by special counsel Robert Hur to not recommend President Joe Biden face charges after Hur’s year-long investigation into Biden’s handling of classified documents.
Trump — who faces criminal charges over his ow...
