During a two-day session last October, President Joe Biden regaled special counsel Robert Hur and his investigators with humorous anecdotes and detailed stories from his lengthy political career, according to a CNN review of the interview transcript.
After being subpoenaed, the Justice Department has delivered the transcript to Congress, the outlet reports. In it, Biden, 81, shares various entertaining stories, ranging from a cringe-worthy archery incident in Mongolia to intense conversations regarding his stance on the Afghanistan war.
In Hur’s conclusive report, it was highlighted that the president exhibited instances of cloudy recollection, including one where he seemingly did not recall the year of his son Beau‘s passing.
Despite repeated inquiries, Biden professed a lack of knowledge regarding the storage and handling of sensitive documents by his aides, as well as the whereabouts of said documents when they were relocated to a private office and his subsequent residences post-vice presidency.
President Biden Overheard On Transcript Saying He Had 'No Idea' How His Aides Stored Important Docs
When questioned about how he manages to keep track of his personal notes on foreign policy, the president apparently told investigators: "I have no idea, I wish I could say I was more organized."
The collective incidents appear to have influenced the special counsel's characterization of the president in his conclusive report, portraying him as a "sympathetic, well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory," and one who could successfully sway a jury, according to CNN.
February 2024's 388-page report, authored by Hur, 51, asserted that Biden mishandled classified information and disclosed it inappropriately following his vice-presidency. Despite these findings, Hur stated that he did not find sufficient evidence to warrant charging the politician with a crime.
Despite the declining charges, Hur's report resonated within the political arena for portraying the president as senile and perplexed. The characterization sparked indignation from the White House and Biden himself, while Republicans capitalized on the opportunity to criticize the situation and expressed disappointment that no charges were brought forward.
Biden's lengthy and occasionally irrelevant monologues during the interview with Hur's team stand out in light of the critical nature of Hur's investigation into the incumbent president.
Typically, legal professionals counsel their clients to provide brief responses during depositions. However, Biden seems to have adopted a tactic from his tenure in the Senate, utilizing long-winded answers to fill the five-hour allotted interview time, which was agreed upon in advance by Hur and Biden's legal representatives.
As per the transcript, the interview's tone did not seem to be confrontational, and the exchange was peppered with moments of laughter owing to Biden's jokes. Biden quipped that "the FBI knows my house better than I do."
He also dished to prosecutors that he knew that one photo was old since "I have my arm around (South Carolina Republican Sen.) Lindsey Graham." The president also called the pope "my ticket." When talking about the FBI searching his properties and office, Biden joked: "I just hope you didn’t find any risqué pictures of my wife in a bathing suit."
Biden stressed that he did not purposely retain classified documents after his departure from office. He recounted how he entrusted his aides with handling sensitive papers, leaving it up to them to determine which ones to include when he was vacating his post. In an attempt to recollect specific timelines, Biden queried out loud about his tenure as the vice president, as indicated in the transcript.
However, the report made a particularly incendiary accusation about Biden's memory, alleging that he "did not remember, even within several years, when his son Beau died."
Within the transcript, it is revealed that the president made reference to his son while engaging in a larger conversation concerning his management of confidential documents as he contemplated his post-public service plans following a five-decade-long career.
In response to an inquiry regarding his paper storage methods, Biden began sharing a tale within the context of the 2017-2018 timeframe, wherein he mentioned his son Beau who had motivated him to continue his political involvement.
"Remember, in this time frame, my son is either deployed or is dying," Biden said, according to the transcript. He then added: "What month did Beau die? Oh God, May 30th," As the conversation continued, a number of individuals chimed in to remind Biden of the fact that his son had passed away in 2015.
It seems that the response is somewhat convoluted and encompasses the period when Biden was coping with the loss of his son due to cancer, as well as contemplating his political prospects. Rather than seeking the presidency at the conclusion of the Obama era, he yielded to Hillary Clinton. It was only during the Trump administration that Biden said he felt compelled to pursue the presidency.
Hur also cited transcripts of a recorded conversation between Biden and his ghostwriter as proof that Biden was aware of possessing classified information in his garage. In the recording, Biden says he "just found all the classified stuff downstairs." According to Hur, Biden seemed to be alluding to certain documents regarding the increase of troops in Afghanistan, which were eventually discovered by FBI agents in his garage.
During his interview, Biden chose to interpret the comment in a different manner. After an investigator asked the president if he could recall "finding any classified stuff downstairs," Biden said no. "The only thing I can remember is I wanted to be clear to him that I didn’t want what he just heard me say … I didn’t want any of that mentioned, it was confidential," Biden recalled, when talking about the subjects of his book.
Biden went on: "I did not – not confidential in the classification sense, but don’t, don’t write about that. That’s off the record. That’s not something I want to be talking about in the book about Beau." During the interview, as noted in the transcript, Biden provided scant information on the origins of classified documents discovered in his Delaware and Virginia homes, as well as his post-vice-presidential office.
He repeatedly claimed to have no recollection of the individuals responsible for packing and relocating boxes from his former official residence and vice-presidential offices at the close of the Obama administration. The special counsel questioned Biden numerous times regarding the presence of a box containing classified documents at his residence.
He directly asked Biden: "Do you remember how these materials got into this box and then how that box got into the garage?" The president replied: "No, I don’t remember how it got – I don’t remember how a beat-up box got into the garage."
In addition, Biden disclosed that he had no recollection of significant incidents that Hur uncovered during interviews with other witnesses, including the occasion when his trusted advisor, Steve Ricchetti, loaded cartons into his minivan and drove them away from the US Naval Observatory, the designated abode of the Vice President.
During the investigation, the transcript revealed that investigators had difficulty maintaining control as Biden provided lengthy responses, consuming valuable time. For instance, when questioned about his utilization of work spaces in the Naval Observatory residence, Biden delved into an extensive account of his experiences.
His anecdotes spanned topics ranging from his professional accomplishments, such as his role in passing the Violence Against Women Act, to his recollections of his initial employment at a Delaware law firm after graduating from law school.
During an interview, Hur found himself running out of time and attempted to inquire whether the president was aware of certain confidential documents being stored in his Delaware residence.
Rather than answering the question directly, Biden shifted the topic to discuss his Corvette, which happened to be kept in the same garage where some of the documents were located. From there, he delved into the advancements of electric cars and their impressive acceleration capabilities.
With polite interruption, Hur interjected while Biden was speaking. "Sir, I’d love – I would love, love to hear much more about this, but I do have a few more questions to get through," he told the president.
