Biden’s Claims About Special Counsel Report on Classified Documents Investigation

Special Counsel Robert Hur’s report on his investigation of President Joe Biden’s handling of classified documents concluded that “no criminal charges are warranted in this matter.” But in a press conference, Biden made several false or misleading claims concerning other details in that report. “Our investigation uncovered evidence that President Biden willfully retained and disclosed classified materials after his vice presidency when he was a private citizen,” including “marked classified documents” about Afghanistan and handwritten notebooks Biden had kept, Hur’s report says. However, for several reasons Hur outlines, “we conclude that the evidence does not establish Mr. Biden’s guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.” The report was released on Feb. 8, and Biden held a press conference that night. Biden said the special counsel found “‘a shortage of evidence’ that I willfully retained classified materials,” calling news reports “about my willful retention of documents … just plain wrong.” The special counsel said the investigation “uncovered evidence [that] Biden willfully retained and disclosed classified materials,” but not enough evidence to convince a jury. He falsely said none of the documents found in his possession was highly classified. Biden claimed the special counsel “did not say” that Biden had shared secret information with...