President Joe Biden emphasized Special Counsel Robert Hur’s decision not to press charges against him in his report on Biden’s handling of classified documents while delivering remarks at the House Democratic Caucus Issues Conference in Leesburg, Virginia.
“As many of you know, this was an exhaustive investigation, going back literally more than forty years. Forty years, when I became a United States senator,” Biden said. “I was a kid, 29 years old.”
“Special counsel acknowledged I cooperated completely. I did not throw up any roadblocks. I sought no delays. In fact, I was so determined to give special counsel what they needed, I went forward with a five-hour in-person interview over the two days of October the 9th — 8th and 9th last year, even though Israel had just been attacked by Hamas on the 7th.”
“I was in the middle of handling an international crisis, but I was especially pleased to see the special counsel make clear the stark differences between this case and Donald Trump.”
“As the special counsel wrote, ‘Several material distinctions between Mr. Trump's case and Mr. Biden's are clear’ — and by the way, this is a Republican counsel — ‘Most notably, after given multiple chances, he returned classified documents and avoided prosecution.’”
“‘Mr. Trump allegedly did the opposite. According to the indictment, he has not only refused to return documents for many months, he also obstructed justice by enlisting others to destroy evidence and then lie about it. In contrast, Mr. Biden turned in classified documents to the National Archives, the Department of Justice, consented to a search of multiple locations, including his homes, and sat for a voluntary interview, and in other ways cooperated with the investigation.’”
“That's the distinction among others. The bottom line is the special counsel, in my case, decided against moving forward with any charges. And this matter is now closed. I'll continue to do what I've always done, stay focused on my job, like you do.”
