Special counsel says no charges for Biden for sharing classified documents

"We have also considered that, at trial, Mr. Biden would likely present himself to a jury, as he did during our interview of him, as a sympathetic, well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory," Special counsel Robert Hur said in his report.

President Joe Biden delivers remarks at the inaugural convening of the White House Council on Supply Chain Resilience, Monday, November 27, 2023. (Official White House Photo/Flickr)

(The Center Square) — President Joe Biden shared government secrets with his ghostwriter, but prosecutors don’t plan to charge him with a crime, according to a special counsel report released Thursday.

The 388-page Justice Department report found that Biden was careless with classified documents, but didn’t commit a crime.

“We conclude that no criminal charges are warranted in this matter,” according to the report. “We would reach the same conclusion even if Department of Justice policy did not foreclose criminal charges against a sitting president.”

Special counsel Robert Hur found evidence that Biden “willfully retained and disclosed classified materials after his vice presidency when he was a private citizen” but said the evidence “does not establish Mr. Biden’s guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.”

“Our investigation uncovered evidence that President Biden willfully retained and disclosed classified materials after his vice presidency when he was a private citizen,” according to the report. “These materials included (1) marked classified documents about military and foreign policy in Afghanistan, and (2) notebooks containing Mr. Biden’s handwritten entries about issues of national security and foreign policy implicating sensitive intelligence sources and methods. FBI agents recovered these materials from the garage, offices, and basement den in Mr. Biden’s Wilmington, Delaware home.”

The report said no charges would be filed.

“However, for the reasons summarized below, we conclude that the evidence does not establish Mr. Biden’s guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. Prosecution of Mr. Biden is also unwarranted based on our consideration of the aggravating and mitigating factors set forth in the Department of Justice’s Principles of Federal Prosecution. For these reasons, we decline prosecution of Mr. Biden.”

 

Casey Harper

Casey Harper is a Senior Reporter for the Washington, D.C. Bureau. He previously worked for The Daily Caller, The Hill, and Sinclair Broadcast Group. A graduate of Hillsdale College, Casey's work has also appeared in Fox News, Fox Business, and USA Today.