Hur was in hot water with White House before he released his report
By
Rachel Schilke
February 16, 2024 8:49 am
Documents show President Joe Biden‘s lawyers were frustrated with special counsel Robert Hur‘s findings and the tone of his report over the president’s handling of classified documents ahead of its release to the public.
A series of letters between Biden’s legal counsel and Justice Department officials occurred the day before Hur’s report was released last week, according to the Washington Post. In one communication, Hur explained his decision not to prosecute Biden for his keeping of classified documents after he left office as vice president despite stating the practices “present serious risks to national security.”
Biden’s personal attorney Bob Bauer and White House counsel Edward Siskel objected to Hur’s final draft of the report in a three-page letter on Feb. 7. The counsel believed the report “openly, obviously, and blatantly” violated Justice Department policy and practice and consensus about special counsel report restrictions.
The lawyers also argued that presidents “have done exactly the same thing” by retaining classified documents or information at home after they served their terms in office.
“So, to criticize President Biden for a practice that his predecessors openly engaged in, a practice that the Justice Department has in the past acknowledged and declined to investigate, a practice that is not charged conduct, exemplifies the reasons why a bipartisan consensus arose to change the prior report writing function,” they wrote.
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https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/white-house/2860188/hur-was-hot-water-white-house-before-released-report/