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WASHINGTON — The White House worked overtime Friday to discredit the special counsel’s claim that President Joe Biden suffers from memory loss, saying the details of the president’s gaffes in a Justice Department report were inaccurate and wide-ranging. It was characterized as politically motivated.
Vice President Kamala Harris, a former California attorney general, said, “As a former prosecutor, the comments made by that prosecutor are unfounded, inaccurate, and inappropriate.”
“The report’s characterization of the president’s behavior could not be more wrong in light of the facts and is clearly politically motivated,” Harris said of the report after speaking at a White House event on gun violence prevention. It’s a thing,” he said.
White House Counsel and Press Secretary Ian Sams called for damage control from bombshell special counsel report that raised concerns about Biden’s age and mental health, addressing findings in briefing with reporters. I tried to argue. Sams pointed to a “pressured political environment” and said Republicans are “insisting on a two-tiered judicial system between Republicans and Democrats.”
“The inevitable conclusion that the facts and evidence do not support any of the charges makes you wonder why this report spends so much time making unwarranted and inappropriate criticisms of the president.” said Sams.
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more:Innocent but not innocent: Biden faces political nightmare over special counsel investigation
Robert Hur, the special counsel appointed by Attorney General Merrick Garland to lead the investigation into Biden’s classified documents, is a Republican who was once appointed by Trump to serve as federal prosecutor in Maryland.
Ho’s report, released Thursday, recommended not prosecuting Biden over classified documents found at the president’s residence in Delaware, but cited evidence that Biden “intentionally retained” classified documents. listed. Nevertheless, Hoare concluded that the jury was likely to have reasonable doubt.
The report describes Biden as an elderly man with “diminished faculties” including memory loss, and claims he cannot remember the year he served as vice president or when his son Beau Biden died of brain cancer. did.
“When you’re the first special prosecutor in history to not indict anyone, there’s a lot of pressure to say things that are critical,” Sams said.
Republicans exploited the report’s claims. Former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley, who is challenging former President Donald Trump for the Republican nomination, wrote on social media: “The White House is not a taxpayer-funded nursing home.”
Mr. Biden, who turned 81 in November, attacked Mr. Xu’s characterization in a hastily arranged press conference on Thursday night, claiming “my memory is fine” and that he doesn’t remember when his son died. He angrily rejected the claim. Mr. Biden also disputed the special counsel’s conclusion that Mr. Biden “intentionally retained” classified documents.
Sams disputed Biden’s claim of memory loss and said the report itself contradicted itself. Citing page 233, he said that if the case against Biden goes to trial, “we expect that the evidence of Mr. Biden’s mental state will be convincing; that is, Mr. “It’s clear and strong testimony that he actually believed it was allowed.” Having a notebook containing confidential documents.
“I can’t explain why the report veers all over the place on this issue,” Sams said.
Sams said the White House received the full 383-page special counsel report on Thursday after Biden reviewed it and was briefed by his lawyers.
The White House stressed that Mr. Biden is fully cooperating with the special counsel and pointed to legal experts and former prosecutors who criticized Mr. Hsu’s decision to include his views on Mr. Biden’s memory in the report. did. Former Attorney General Eric Holder, who served in the Obama administration, said these provisions are “completely inconsistent with the Department of Justice’s longstanding traditions.”
“Had this report been subject to the normal review by the Department of Justice, these statements would undoubtedly have been removed,” Holder wrote on X (formerly Twitter).
Sams said Biden’s interrogation with prosecutors took place the day after the Oct. 7 attack on Israel by Hamas, and that “the president was dealing with a serious international crisis.”
Sams did not rule out releasing transcripts of Biden’s interviews with special counsel investigators, but cited “sensitive matters” that could complicate their release.
“That’s a fair question,” Sams said. “We will look at it and decide.”
Biden’s age was already a concern for many Americans heading into the 2024 election, but the special counsel’s report puts perhaps his biggest liability at the center of the campaign. .
“I think the people are smart and I think they understand what’s going on,” Sams said. “I think they’re seeing a president who fully cooperated. I think they’re seeing a president who did the right thing and made sure (all the documents) were returned.”
President Trump was indicted by Special Counsel Jack Smith on charges of intentional retention of national defense information, false statements or representations, and conspiracy to obstruct justice for possessing classified documents after leaving the White House. , said to ask the following questions. A federal judge cited Biden’s report and dismissed the charges against him, citing “selective prosecution.”
But legal analysts said Trump’s case is different in that he is also charged with defying a grand jury subpoena for documents he kept.
Contact Joey Garrison at X (@joeygarrison), formerly known as Twitter.
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