(Washington) The special prosecutor responsible for investigating accusations of mishandling of confidential documents by Joe Biden has decided not to recommend prosecution but describes the American president as an “elderly man with a bad memory” in his report published Thursday .
If this expected decision dispels possible legal hassles for the Democratic president, who is preparing to face his Republican predecessor Donald Trump in November for a rematch of the 2020 election, it once again exposes his main vulnerability: his great age, 81 years.
Appointed in January 2023 by Justice Minister Merrick Garland, special prosecutor Robert Hur concludes that Joe Biden “knowingly kept and disclosed classified documents after his vice-presidency while he was a private citizen”.
AL JUSTICE DEPARTMENT PHOTO, PROVIDED TO THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
This appointment followed the discovery in 2022 of classified documents dating from the time when Joe Biden was vice-president (2009-2017) at his residence in Wilmington, Delaware.
But he considers that “an indictment would not be justified”, believing in particular that a jury would give the benefit of the doubt to “a sympathetic, well-intentioned elderly man with a bad memory”.
At a Democratic rally on Thursday, Mr. Biden said he was “glad” that the prosecutor had decided not to charge him.
He assured that he had fully cooperated with the investigation, including during a two-day interview with the special prosecutor and his team in October 2023 in the very first days of the “international crisis” triggered by the unprecedented attack of the Palestinian Hamas in Israel.
He highlighted the contrast between his attitude and that of Donald Trump, criminally prosecuted for his alleged negligent management of confidential documents after his departure from the White House and accused of obstruction of justice in this matter.
The report was immediately exploited by the Republican staff in the House of Representatives, who considered that Joe Biden was “unfit” to be president.
Mr. Hur’s appointment followed the discovery in December 2022 and January 2023 of classified documents dating from Joe Biden’s time as vice president (2009-2017) at his residence in Wilmington, Delaware, as well as in an old office.
The White House lawyer welcomed the special prosecutor’s decision not to prosecute but regretted “inappropriate comments” on his part.
In his 388-page report, Mr. Hur mentions in particular his five-hour interview with Joe Biden during which he said he noticed that “his memory had gotten worse”.
“He no longer remembered when he was vice-president”, no longer knowing exactly in what year his mandate began or ended, nor exactly the year of the death of his eldest son Beau, he asserts. .