Special Counsel Robert Hur’s report described President Biden as “a sympathetic, well-meaning, old man with a failing memory” — and many political analysts say that’s exactly the impression the president left on television viewers. debate on Thursday.
Naa The February report, noting that Biden’s “memory also appears to have significant limitations,” Hur said he would not bring criminal charges against the president after a month-long investigation into his improper retention of classified document related to national security.
“Based on our direct contact and observations with him, he is someone for whom many jurors would want to recognize a reasonable doubt,” the report said. “It would be difficult to convince a jury that they should convict him – at the time a former president in his eighties – of a serious felony requiring a willful mental state.”
During and after Biden’s debate against former President Donald Trump this week, many political analysts took to social media to suggest that Hur, who faced criticism from Democrats and the liberal media over comments by report on Biden’s memory and judgment, was “bindicated” and “Apologetics deserved.”
HOUSE GOP WILL PUSH DOJ NEXT WEEK TO OBTAIN BIDEN-HUR AUDIO TAPES, JOHNSON SAYS
Special Counsel Robert Hur’s report described Biden as “a sympathetic, well-meaning, old man with a poor memory,” reflecting what some analysts believe is the impression he left on debate viewers. (Getty Images)
“You know who looks really vindicated tonight? Special counsel Robert Hur,” Jim Geraghty, National Review’s senior political correspondent and a Washington Post contributing columnist, said in the middle of Biden’s performance.
Echoing Geraghty, Charles CW Cooke, a British-born American journalist and a senior writer at National Review Online, wrote in a post to X, “Robert Hur deserves an apology.”
Former Trump-era White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany also weighed in on Biden’s performance by referring to Hur.
“Biden is worse than anyone knows. Robert Hur must be shocked. Now the country is,” McEnany, the co-host of Fox News’ “Outnumbered,” said in a post on social media.
In the interview with Hur, Biden, according to the report, “didn’t remember when he was vice president, forgot on the first day of the interview when his term ended (‘if it’s 2013 — when did I stop being Vice President? ‘) , and forgetting on the second day of the interview when his term began (‘in 2009, was I still Vice President?’)”
“He didn’t remember, even for a few years, when his son Beau died. And his memory seemed hazy when describing the debate in Afghanistan that was once so important to him. Among other things, he made a mistake said he ‘had a real difference’ of opinion with General Karl Eikenberry, who, in fact, Eikenberry is an ally that Mr. Eiden mentioned approvingly in his Thanksgiving memo to President Obama,” said the reported Hur.
TRUMP SAYS ‘BIGEST PROBLEM’ IS NOT BIDEN’S AGE, ‘LAUGHS,’ BUT HIS POLICIES IN FIRST EVENT FROM DEBATE
President Biden and former President Trump during a presidential debate in Atlanta, Georgia, on June 27, 2024. (Getty Images)
Biden and his allies aggressively pushed back on concerns about his mental fitness after the report. Although a full transcript of the interview was released, Republican lawmakers are still seeking audio tapes of the discussions.
Earlier this week, ahead of the debate, House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., said House Republicans would file a lawsuit next week to force the Department of Justice (DOJ) to turn over the audio tapes of the interview. said Hur to Biden.
“We’re going to file a lawsuit next week against — against the Department of Justice to enforce that subpoena. We’re going to the district court here in DC, which is the proper venue, and we’re going to fight vigorously to get it,” Johnson told reporters at his regular press conference.
Attorney General Merrick Garland previously refused a subpoena by House GOP investigators for the audio tapes, citing Biden’s claim of executive privilege.
Garland’s refusal prompted House Republicans to impeach him earlier this month, referring Garland to his own department for criminal charges. The DOJ ultimately declined to prosecute.
Attorney General Merrick Garland (left) previously rejected House GOP investigators’ subpoena for the audio tapes, citing Biden’s claim of executive privilege. (Getty Images)
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
Following Biden’s debate performance, several media figures are now supporting the release of audio tapes from the president’s interview with Hur, including Washington Post columnist Megan McArdle.
“If you hope that Biden’s performance on Thursday was just an aberration, you should call on the administration to release the tapes of his interview with Robert Hur so we can all hear what he sounds like when he doesn’t have a cold,” McArdle wrote in a post in X.
Brooke Singman and Elizabeth Elkind of Fox News contributed to this report.
