House Hearing Gets Tense – WATCH
On Tuesday, former special counsel Robert Hur appeared on Capitol Hill for a highly anticipated congressional testimony. Republicans were hopeful that Hur’s testimony would provide insight into the investigation of President Joe Biden’s alleged theft and mishandling of classified documents, which led to a report that drew criticism from Democrats for overstepping its boundaries. The report included evidence of Biden’s cognitive decline, a topic which the White House had previously denied.
Hur did not back down from his assessment of Biden’s memory during the testimony, stating that the issue had been brought up by the president himself. He cited one instance in which the president tried to deflect from his inability to recall an event by falsely claiming that his son died in the same year. Hur quickly corrected this falsehood, revealing that Beau Biden had actually passed away two years earlier. The White House had previously lied about this exchange and the transcript provided by Hur during the hearing confirmed the truth.
Special Counsel Hur defends his assessment of Biden’s memory in his report:
“The evidence and the president himself put his memory squarely at issue…my assessment in the report about the relevance of the president’s memory was necessary and accurate and fair.” pic.twitter.com/qZ36KOWeuh
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) March 12, 2024
Democrats also attempted to discredit Hur by claiming that his report had exonerated Biden, to which the former special counsel strongly disagreed. As RedState previously reported, the report provided evidence of Biden’s potential violation of the law, but Hur did not recommend prosecution due to current DOJ protocol and Biden’s cognitive limitations.
Rep. Adam Schiff also faced criticism from Hur after suggesting that the former special counsel should have released a sanitized version of his report to avoid making judgments about someone who wasn’t being charged with a crime. Despite pushing for the release of the unverified and unredacted Mueller report, which made negative claims about former President Donald Trump, Schiff seemed to have a change of heart in this situation. Hur’s testimony highlighted the irony in Schiff’s stance.
Rep. Jim Jordan questioned Hur about the evidence suggesting that Biden kept the classified documents to illegally leak them to his ghostwriter, ultimately earning $8 million from his book advance. Hur confirmed that there is reason to believe this was the motivation behind Biden’s actions. Jordan pointed out that former CIA Director David Petraeus was prosecuted for a similar offense, prompting the question of why no one would be held accountable in this situation.
SPECIAL COUNSEL HUR: We did NOT exonerate Biden pic.twitter.com/mLHW3rgdSe
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) March 12, 2024
Aside from the clear discrepancy in the treatment of Biden’s actions compared to that of Petraeus, Hur’s testimony also highlighted the importance of the political implications of this situation. While the DOJ may have closed the door on bringing criminal charges against Biden, the political fallout from this testimony could still be significant. It’s a news cycle that the White House cannot afford as Biden’s reelection campaign is already facing challenges.
Hur’s testimony was damning for Democrats, providing a variety of viral moments that painted a troubling picture of the current president’s actions and cognitive abilities. It also brought attention to the potential lack of accountability for political figures compared to the general public. As the hearing progressed, it became increasingly clear that Democrats were unable to defend their narrative and were forced to try and discredit Hur’s report. Ultimately, the testimony revealed the stark reality of Biden’s questionable actions and raised concerns about the double standard in the justice system.