Special Counsel Robert Hur and President Joe Biden. (Getty Images)
Democrats seized on the fact that Hur did not bring charges against the president, claiming he exonerated the president completely.
U.S. Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD). (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)
Democratic Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., also said Hur "exonerated him."
But Hur pushed back.
"I did not exonerate him," Hur told Jayapal. "That word does not appear in my report."
When questioned about Nadler and Raskin’s characterizations of his report as an "exoneration," Hur fired back again.
"That is not what my report does," Hur testified.
This image from Special Council Robert Hur’s investigation released by the Department of Justice on Thursday, February 8, 2024 shows boxes inside Joe Biden’s garage containing classified Afghanistan documents on December 21, 2022. (U.S. Department of Justice)
"This evidence included an audiorecorded conversation during which Mr. Biden told his ghostwriter that he had ‘just found all the classified stuff downstairs.' When Mr. Biden said this, he was a private citizen speaking to his ghostwriter in his private rental home in Virginia," Hur continued. "We also identified other recorded conversations during which Mr. Biden read classified information aloud to his ghostwriter."
He added, though, that "we did not, however, identify evidence that rose to the level of proof beyond a reasonable doubt. Because the evidence fell short of that standard, I declined to recommend criminal charges against Mr. Biden."
But Hur said he "needed to explain why" he declined prosecution.
"I had to consider the president’s memory and overall mental state, and how a jury likely would perceive his memory and mental state in a criminal trial," Hur testified. "These are the types of issues prosecutors analyze every day. And because these issues were important to my ultimate decision, I had to include a discussion of them in my report to the attorney general."
Hur, in his report, described Biden as a "sympathetic, well-meaning elderly man with a poor memory" — a description that has raised significant concerns for Biden's 2024 re-election campaign.
President Biden listens to a question during a news conference in the East Room of the White House in Washington, Jan. 19, 2022. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh, File)
"The evidence and the president himself put his memory squarely at issue. We interviewed the president and asked him about his recorded statement, ‘I just found all the classified stuff downstairs.’ He told us that he didn’t remember saying that to his ghostwriter," Hur said. "He also said he didn’t remember finding any classified material in his home after his vice presidency. And he didn’t remember anything about how classified documents about Afghanistan made their way into his garage."
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Hur defended himself, saying his assessment in the report "about the relevance of the president’s memory was necessary and accurate and fair."
"Most importantly, what I wrote is what I believe the evidence shows, and what I expect jurors would perceive and believe. I did not sanitize my explanation. Nor did I disparage the president unfairly," Hur testified. "I explained to the Attorney General my decision and the reasons for it. That’s what I was required to do."
Brooke Singman is a political correspondent and reporter for Fox News Digital, Fox News Channel and FOX Business.
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