By Trend News Line 2024-02-13 09:17:52.
WASHINGTON — Special Counsel Robert Hur’s nearly 400-page report on the classified documents that President Joe Biden kept after leaving office includes new details on why it’s become commonplace for politicians to end up with sensitive information after they leave their posts. The report also sheds light on why Biden, then a former vice president, shared private information with a ghostwriter, a practice that’s become ubiquitous for high-profile individuals who want to publish a book without actually writing it themselves.
In total, the report includes an executive summary, 17 chapters, a conclusion, and three appendices, covering a total of 388 pages. U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland announced Hur as the special counsel in January 2023; Trump had appointed Hur to lead the prosecutor’s office in Maryland in 2018. He left in 2021 to join the Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher law firm. Hur declined to recommend criminal charges for Biden. But there are a lot of new details, including about Biden’s memory, that grabbed headlines, so here’s a breakdown of five key points in the report:
1. Biden’s memory and ‘superfluous’ commentary
The report states that one reason prosecutors didn’t bring charges against Biden was his poor memory. It revealed that during an interview with the special counsel, Biden “did not remember when he was vice president” and “did not remember, even within several years, when his son Beau died.” Biden strongly objected to these claims, stating that it wasn’t anyone’s business. Special Counsel to the President Richard Sauber and Bob Bauer, personal counsel to Biden, also rejected the report’s characterization of Biden’s memory loss, stating that it was neither surprising nor unusual.
2. Ronald Reagan and precedent for holding onto classified materials
The report highlights that Biden is not the first former executive branch official to keep classified or sensitive materials after leaving office. It cites former President Ronald Reagan, who kept eight years’ worth of handwritten diaries with top-secret information at his California home. The report questions why Reagan was not investigated for mishandling classified information.
3. Biden’s conversations with his ghostwriter
The report reveals that Biden shared sensitive information with his ghostwriter and sometimes read classified entries to him verbatim. It states that Biden considered his notebooks as highly private possessions that he was unwilling to part with. The report highlights the risks this poses to national security.
4. Deleted then partially recovered evidence
The report notes that the ghostwriter deleted recordings of conversations with Biden but later turned over his computer and external hard drive to the special counsel. The FBI was able to recover most of the deleted audio files. The ghostwriter preserved transcripts containing incriminating information against Biden.
5. Documents found near dog bed, Zappos box
The appendices of the report detail the documents found in Biden’s office or home, including their classification levels. These documents include a top-secret document discussing Russian aggression toward Ukraine and a 2009 document detailing topics related to the war in Afghanistan. The report provides a comprehensive list of all the handwritten materials and notebook entries that included classified information.
Overall, the report provides new insights into the reasons behind politicians retaining sensitive information after leaving office and sheds light on Biden’s memory and his interactions with his ghostwriter. It also raises questions about the handling of classified materials by former presidents and vice presidents..
– Special counsel’s report on Biden and classified documents
– Five big takeaways from the special counsel’s report on Biden and classified documents.