Special Counsel to Not Seek Charges in Biden Classified Files Case

Updated Feb. 8, 2024, 4:30 p.m. EST

• Special Counsel Robert Hur issued a report into Biden's handling of classified documents after serving as Vice President under the Obama administration, finding that Biden "wilfully retained and disclosed classified materials." The special counsel decided "no criminal charges are warranted."
• Hur expressed concern that jurors wouldn't believe Biden "wilfully" kept the documents – one of the reasons he believes the president should not face charges. The report also highlighted Biden's mental state and memory, saying he was unable to remember the dates of his vice presidency and when his son Beau died in interviews.
• Hur wrote:

"We have also considered that, at trial, Mr. Biden would likely present himself to a jury...as a sympathetic, well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory."

• Biden's legal team objected to this description, writing:

"We do not believe that the report's treatment of President Biden's memory is accurate or appropriate. The report uses highly prejudicial language to describe a commonplace occurrence among witnesses: a lack of recall of years-old events."

Updated February 16, 2023

• The FBI conducted two searches at the University of Delaware, Biden's alma mater, to see if the President donated any classified papers. Investigators recovered multiple boxes from the college, which houses thousands of boxes holding files related to Biden's time as Senator. 
• The University of Delaware received 1,850 boxes of files from Biden in 2012, which are not available to the public. 
• The materials retrieved from the college did not appear to have classified markings, but investigators are still reviewing the papers.

Updated January 23, 2023

• During a search prompted by the White House, Justice Department officials found six additional classified items in Biden's Delaware home on Friday. 
• The documents seem to be connected to Biden's time as vice president and his tenure in the U.S. Senate. The investigators found the items after Biden offered full access to the premises during a departmental investigation.
• Bob Bauer, Biden's personal attorney, said in a statement that the DOJ was given full access to Biden's home, including "personally handwritten notes, files, papers, binders, memorabilia, to-do lists, schedules, and reminders going back decades." 

Updated January 20, 2023

• Earlier this week, the White House provided more details on the discovery of classified files. Attorney General Merrick B. Garland gave a statement along with the White House, including a detailed timeline provided by one of President Biden's lawyers.
• The first set of files was found on Nov. 2 in Biden's Penn Biden Center for Diplomacy and Global Engagement office. It's unclear when the second set was found, but the U.S. attorney in Chicago, John R. Lausch Jr., was told of the files in Wilmington on Dec. 20.
• Biden and his top advisers stayed silent for 68 days in an attempt to allow the incident to blow over and avoid any broader implications. His advisers hoped to convince the Justice Department that the discovery was a minor mistake. 
• While Biden has received wide criticism for not making the matter public earlier, officials have maintained that there was no hesitation to informing the National Archives and Records Administration, unlike former President Trump's case.  

Updated January 12, 2023

• A second set of classified documents were discovered in the garage of President Biden's home in Wilmington, DE, according to a top White House lawyer. 
• These documents are from Biden's time as vice president, as were the set found earlier this week in his former office. 
• In a White House statement, Richard Sauber, special counsel to Biden, said the President's team immediately notified the Justice Department and arranged to hand over the documents. The statement did not include information on the content of the papers. 
• Sauber said that Biden's house in Rehoboth Beach, DE, was also searched, and the team found no documents. 

What’s the story?

• President Biden’s lawyers found “a small number” of classified documents in his former office at the Penn Biden Center in Washington last fall. Biden said he was surprised to learn that these files were in his private office. 
• The papers date to his time as vice president and allegedly contain briefings on foreign countries, including Ukraine, Iran, and the United Kingdom. The level of classification is still unclear. 
• The White House said that the Counsel’s Office notified the National Archives and that the administration retrieved them quickly. 
• The U.S. Justice Department and a Republican congressional committee are investigating the matter. Rep. James Comer (R-KY), the committee’s chairman, shared the panel's concern that Biden compromised intelligent sources.

How does this differ from Trump’s case? 

• The FBI found over 300 classified documents — including 18 marked “top secret” — at former President Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate last August. 
• The most evident difference is the response between the two administrations. Federal prosecutors maintain that Trump and his team did not cooperate with the National Archives to return the documents, while Biden’s lawyers alerted the agency immediately. Biden said:

“We’re cooperating fully — cooperating fully — with the review, which I hope will be completed soon.”

Should the DOJ investigate Biden?

(Photo credit: Flickr/Prachatai)