In a private gathering in Virginia on Thursday, President Joe Biden reportedly reacted with strong language upon learning that while he would not be charged for mishandling classified documents, his cognitive state was being questioned by the special counsel investigating him.
Special counsel Robert Hur released an extensive report on Thursday, stating that Biden's handling of sensitive government materials was "willful." However, Hur suggested that a jury would likely be "sympathetic" to Biden's memory issues and recommended that he not face charges.
The report also alleged that Biden could not recall the years he served as vice president or the time of his son Beau Biden's death. According to the Associated Press, Biden was in Virginia when he was informed about the report and was displeased with his mental acuity being so publicly scrutinized.
Biden was particularly upset with a section of Hur's report where he could not remember when his son passed away. The AP reported, "When asked about the report earlier Thursday in a private moment with a handful of House Democrats ahead of his speech at their suburban Virginia retreat, Biden responded angrily, according to two people familiar with his comments, saying, 'You think I would f***ing forget the day my son died?'"
The AP's sources requested anonymity. The section of the report that allegedly upset Biden stated, "[Biden] did not remember when he was vice president, forgetting on the first day of the interview when his term ended ('if it was 2013 when did I stop being Vice President?'), and forgetting on the second day of the interview when his term began ('in 2009, am I still Vice President?')." The report further noted that Biden, when questioned by investigators, "did not remember, even within several years, when his son Beau died."
According to Politico's Playbook, Biden expressed his anger at another gathering later on Thursday, this time with a larger group of House Democrats. The outlet reported, "[Biden] repeated a version of the line without the F-bomb during a Q&A with a larger group of House Dems. And, according to a source familiar with the planning for the hastily arranged news conference last night, Biden was angry and defiant and still feeling especially outraged by the Beau line when he decided to face reporters and defend himself from Hurs slurs and then compounded the questions about his memory issues by referring to Egyptian President ABDEL FATTAH EL-SISI as the 'president of Mexico.'"
Hur's report characterized Biden as an "elderly man with a poor memory" and questioned the Justice Department's ability to secure a conviction, as any jury might be "sympathetic" to him. The report stated, "Based on our direct interactions with and observations of him, he is someone for whom many jurors will want to identify reasonable doubt. It would be difficult to convince a jury that they should convict him by then a former president well into his eighties of a serious felony that requires a mental state of willfulness."
Hur's report also described Biden overall as "significantly limited."
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