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President Biden’s memory has once again become a topic of debate, thanks to a 345-page report released by the Federal Prosecutor on Thursday. The report, a contentious and controversial part of Biden’s memory, addresses his handling of classified information while living outside the office.
Attorney’s Insights about President Biden
Renowned attorney Robert Hur wrote that Biden‘s mental acuity and recall power – described in rare terms as “foggy” and, in one conversation, so bad that the president “couldn’t even Recalling the time his eldest son “had passed away” years prior influenced the choice to drop the accusations.
Within hours of Hur’s report going public, issues with Biden’s memory were drawing notice in political circles and the media – including from Biden’s critics.
Allegations of Bias
Hur’s language provoked a fierce backlash from Biden’s attorneys, who called it inaccurate and “inflammatory,” and Biden himself later pushed back on potential bias in Hur’s report by mentioning Hur as “Republican counsel.” The prosecutor’s background.
What the Report Says About President Biden’s Memory
Broadly, Hur concluded that “no criminal charges are recommended” after their investigation, but still “shed light on the fact that President Biden kept classified information after his vice-presidency and when he was a private citizen, he disclosed classified information.”
White House Cooperation
The White House has maintained from the outset that it will cooperate with investigators. Biden himself has repeatedly denied any personal wrongdoing and stated he was “surprised” to learn about the existence of documents, which he promptly returned upon discovery.
Challenges Acknowledged
In their report, Hur acknowledged the issue of perception that the prosecution side may have to contend with jury members concerning Biden’s memory issues.
“In trial, Mr. Biden will likely present himself to the jury as he did during our interview: with sympathy, good humor, well-understood as an old man,” Hur wrote. “As a former president in his seventies, it will be challenging for a jury to find legitimate concerns about him—a major demand that necessitates a mental state, ‘Hur concluded quickly.
President Biden’s Counsel Counters
Biden’s attorneys released “no fewer than nine” examples, including one referencing Biden’s memory during his interview with HUR’s team last year, which were limited to his private sit-down with HUR, last year’s president’s with the attorney.
Hur wrote in his report that he acknowledged Biden’s “recorded conversations with his ghostwriter since 2017” – which were reviewed later by investigators – “often slowly, slowly from pain, Mr. Biden struggled several times to remember events and to read and relay. Notebook entries.”
President Biden’s Memory in Focus
When interviewed by Hur’s team, Biden’s “memory was worse” in October, for example, Hur wrote.
“He [Biden] didn’t remember that he forgot the first day of his interview when he was vice president, when his term ended (‘if it was 2013 – when did I stop being vice president?’), and he forgot the second day. Forgot the interview when his term started (‘In 2009, am I still vice president?’),” wrote Hur.
Hur kept it, “He didn’t remember, even for years, when his son Beau died,” which was in 2015. “And his memory of the Afghanistan debate was blurry, once very important to him.”
For example, Hur wrote, Biden “mistakenly said he was ‘in disagreement with Carl Icahn,’ when in fact, Icahn was a colleague to whom Mr. Biden referred in a tribute to former President Barack Obama. “
Hur also wrote that Biden “lessened and imperfectly remembered both during his conversation with his ghostwriter and his interview with the attorney’s team” – the kind of language Biden’s lawyers and Biden himself later sharply objected to.
Biden’s Quick Response
In hastily arranged remarks from the White House Thursday night, Biden quickly addressed concerns about his son.
“I am aware that the report gave some emphasis to specific words related to my recall. There’s even a reference in there to not remembering when my son died. How the hell does he think I can take that? I, when asked, thought, it was none of his damn business when he died or when he died,” Biden said.
However, in the same remarks, Biden accidentally referred to the president of Egypt as the president of Mexico.
Biden’s Critics Seize on Memory Details
Republicans were quick to seize on Hur’s attention to Biden’s memory, which – as elections have shown – the public has expressed broad skepticism about his age and acuity, while Trump has not had this problem.