President Joe Biden denied that he willfully retained classified documents, following the release of special counsel Robert Hur’s report on his investigation into the matter.
Hur delivered his report to Congress earlier in the day Thursday ending a Justice Department probe that began last year after Biden aides found classified documents, from his time as vice president, at an old office and his Delaware home. While the report did not find sufficient evidence to recommend charges, Hur called Biden’s decision to keep classified documents at his home careless. In a line of the report, Hur wrote that his investigation “uncovered evidence that President Biden willfully retained and disclosed classified materials after his vice presidency when he was a private citizen.”
In unscheduled remarks at the White House on Thursday night, Biden was critical of the media headlines since the reported released focusing on the characterization that his retention of classified documents as “willful.”
“I’ve seen the headlines, since the report was released, about my ‘willful retention’ of documents,” the president said. “These assertions are not only misleading, they’re just plain wrong.”
Biden pointed to sections of the report where Hur noted his retention of specific documents did not appear willful: “The evidence said I did not willfully retain these documents.”
