House Republicans are seeking to have special counsel Robert Hur testify in front of the House Judiciary Committee regarding his report on President Joe Biden’s handling of classified documents. The report, released last week, depicted Biden as forgetful and failing to properly protect highly sensitive classified information, although it did not charge him with a crime.
Hur has retained Bill Burck as his personal attorney, and discussions are underway for him to testify at the end of February. Meanwhile, House Oversight Chairman James Comer has called for the Justice Department to provide Congress with all classified materials related to the impeachment inquiry into Biden.
House Oversight Republicans have also requested the release of the full transcript of Biden’s interview with the special counsel, which is quoted in the final report.
Previous special counsels appointed during the Trump presidency, such as Robert Mueller and John Durham, testified to Congress after submitting their reports to the Justice Department. Mueller’s testimony in July 2019 was marked by halting responses mostly sticking to his report, while Durham testified to the House Judiciary Committee last June about his investigation into the FBI’s probe into Trump and Russia.
Hur’s report found that Biden willfully retained classified information, including top-secret documents, and shared some of it with the ghostwriter of his 2017 memoir. However, no charges were filed against Biden because there was no evidence of willful intent to illegally hold classified information, and Biden cooperated with the investigation. The report noted Biden’s poor memory as a factor in not pursuing prosecution, which drew objections from Biden’s lawyers.
The report is expected to be a campaign issue in the 2024 election, particularly as Biden’s likely opponent, Donald Trump, faces criminal charges for his handling of classified material. However, Hur emphasized the differences between the two cases in his report.