Special Counsel Hur Smacks Down Democrats’ Attempts to Portray Him as Partisan Prosecutor

Special counsel Robert Hur pushed back forcefully during his Tuesday testimony when Democrats repeatedly pushed him to take partisan positions on the differences between President Joe Biden and former president Donald Trump’s classified-documents cases.

Hur fielded questions from members of the House Judiciary Committee about his investigation into Joe Biden’s handling of classified documents following his vice presidency. House Democrats repeatedly questioned Hur’s partisan allegiances because of his decision to comment on Biden’s advanced age in his final report.

Representative Hank Johnson (D., Ga.) pressed Hur on whether he was a registered Republican and falsely accused him of being a member of the Federalist Society, arguing that his conservative leanings motivated him to smear Biden in his report.

“Despite clearing President Biden from being prosecuted, you used your report to trash and smear President Biden because he said in response to questions over a five-hour interview that he didn’t recall how he got the documents. And you knew that that would play into the Republicans’ narrative that the president is unfit for office because he’s senile, and the American people saw during the State of the Union address that that was not true, but yet that’s what you tried to offer to them and that’s why they are having you here today,” Johnson said.

“Congressman, I reject the suggestions you have just made, that is not what happened, partisan politics played no part whatsoever in my work. My work was independent and fair,” Hur said as Johnson tried cutting him off.

Johnson went on to accuse Hur of trying to help Trump get reelected as part of a plan to secure a federal judgeship or senior position in the Justice Department. Hur denied having those aspirations and repeatedly emphasized partisan politics “had no place” in his report.

Representative Adam Schiff (D., Ca.) joined Johnson in questioning Hur’s partisan affiliations and the sections of his report on President Biden’s age. He criticized Hur for discussing Biden’s memory beyond his recollection of a set of classified documents.

“You chose a general, pejorative reference to the president. You understood when you made that decision, didn’t you Mr. Hur, that you would ignite a political firestorm with that language, didn’t you?” Schiff said.

“Congressman, politics played no part in whatsoever in my investigative steps, my decisions, or the words I put in my report,” Hur shot back.

Representative Pramila Jayapal (D., Wash.) later pressed Hur on whether his report “exonerated” Joe Biden, a characterization Hur rejected emphatically.

“I need to go back and make sure that take note of the word that you used, ‘exoneration,’ that is not a word I used in the report and that’s not part of my task as a prosecutor,” Hur replied as Jayapal spoke over him and continued with her questioning.

Representative Lou Correa (D., Ca.) asked Hur a series of questions comparing the alleged obstruction of justice by former president Donald Trump in his classified documents case to the cooperation from President Biden in Hur’s investigation.

Special counsel Jack Smith is prosecuting Trump in Florida over his alleged mishandling of classified documents and refusal to hand them over to the government in a timely manner. Correa followed up by asking Hur if being a Republican impacted his investigation into Joe Biden.

“Does the fact that you’re Republican, does that stop you from a thorough and fair investigation?” Correa asked after praising Hur’s credentials.

“No, partisan politics had nothing to do with the work that I did or the report that I wrote or the decision that I reached,” Hur asserted.

The final report produced by Hur last month explained why he declined to recommend criminal charges against Joe Biden despite finding evidence he “willfully” retained classified documents on foreign policy and national security matters.

Hur’s description of Biden’s memory lapses during his two-part interview brought fresh scrutiny to the president’s age and mental faculities. Newly released transcripts of Hur’s interview with President Biden appear to corroborate Hur’s account of Biden’s difficulties remembering the exact years he was vice president and the year his late son Beau Biden passed away.

Prior to the report’s publication, the White House attempted to pressure Hur into revising parts of the report focused on Biden’s age, Hur testified on Tuesday. In his opening statement, Hur emphasized the need for the sections on Biden’s age because of their relevance to his determination Biden should not face criminal charges.