Trump posts to Truth Social ahead of Hur testimony
From CNN's Kate Sullivan
Former President Donald Trump has continued railing against the decision not to charge President Joe Biden over his handling of classified material ahead of Robert Hur’s expected testimony in front of the GOP-run House Judiciary Committee.
“Big day in Congress for the Biden Documents Hoax," the former president said on Truth Social.
Hur will be testifying as a private citizen after the Department of Justice said Monday he had finished up his work last week with the DOJ.
Hur’s report last month did not charge Biden with a crime, but it painted a picture of a forgetful commander-in-chief who failed to protect sensitive information. The White House blasted some of the criticism as "way out of line.”
11:44 a.m. ET, March 12, 2024
Robert Hur prepped for hearing with some help from DOJ
From CNN’s Paula Reid
Robert Hur attends a news conference in 2019. Michael A. McCoy/Reuters/FILE
Special counsel Robert Hur prepared for Tuesday’s testimony in front of the House Judiciary Committee with help from the Office of Legislative Affairs at the Justice Department, according to a source close to him.
Hur left the DOJ last week, so it is notable that he got help from DOJ for this hearing, and is another example of the support Hur has received from the department even as the White House objects to some aspects of his report.
Once he left the Justice Department, Hur did additional moot hearings with his attorney, Bill Burck, and others to prepare for Tuesday’s hearing, the source said.
Hur anticipates that Republicans will ask about why he did not charge Biden and that Democrats will chastise him about his comments he included about Biden’s memory.
A source who is familiar with Hur’s preparation for Tuesday’s House hearing said that the Office of Legislative Affairs "provides support to any employee who is testifying before Congress. In this instance, the office’s role was limited since the special counsel retained private counsel for his preparations.”
“As with other recent special counsels, when Mr. Hur asked for guidance concerning the request for his testimony, DOJ authorized him to testify about the information contained in his report. Throughout the preparation process, the office legislative affairs advised Mr. Hur that any answers should be his own,” according to the source.
A source close to Hur says he wants to stick to the traditional approach special counsels take to these hearings where they do not talk about investigative methods or stray from conclusions in the report.
The source said Hur will emphasize that he did not find Biden “innocent” but did not think he could win at trial if he brought charges.
“He is not looking to make anyone happy,” the source said. “It shows he is independent."
Democrats expected to contrast Biden and Trump as they walk careful line with Robert Hur
From CNN’s Lauren Fox
Getty Images
House Democrats on the Judiciary Committee will have to strike a delicate balance on Tuesday as they prepare to focus their questions with special counsel Robert Hur on the underlying decision he made not to prosecute President Joe Biden for retaining classified documents.
They will continue their balancing act as Democrats also plan to repeatedly contrast Biden with former President Donald Trump’s mishandling of classified documents.
A source familiar with the Democratic strategy tells CNN that the challenge ahead today is to make sure that the public recognizes that Biden was not prosecuted.
Top Judiciary Democrat Rep. Jerry Nadler is expected to draw a stark contrast with Trump, using video of Trump saying in the past he didn’t recall certain events, an attempt to neutralize questions about Biden’s memory, a source told CNN.
He will also acknowledge some of the questions about Biden's interview with Hur:
“I believe as is his habit that President Biden probably committed a verbal slip or two during the interview. And I am not sure any of that matters because when the interview was over, Mr. Hur completely exonerated President Biden," Nadler will say in his opening statement.
Democrats are hoping that the release of the transcript between Hur and Biden will give context to many of the incidences that Republicans are likely to drill down on in Tuesday's hearing -- including the piece from Hur’s report that Biden struggled to recall the year his son Beau died.
8:15 a.m. ET, March 12, 2024
Biden said he didn't know how his aides stored sensitive documents, according to a transcript of his interview
From CNN's Evan Perez and Hannah Rabinowitz
President Joe Biden told jokes and unfurled lengthy detailed stories from his decades-long political career as he fielded questions from special counsel Robert Hur and his investigators over two days last October, a transcript of the interview reviewed by CNN shows.
The deposition is filled with classic Biden tales, from an embarrassing archery episode in Mongolia to tense discussions over his views on the Afghanistan war.
Biden repeatedly said he didn’t know or couldn’t remember how his aides stored or handled sensitive documents, or how they ended up in boxes that were moved to a private office and homes he occupied after leaving the vice presidency.
Asked to explain how he kept track of his personal notes on foreign policy, the president told the investigators: “I have no idea, I wish I could say I was more organized.”
Taken together, the instances seemingly led the special counsel to describe the president in his final report as presenting like a “sympathetic, well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory” — one who would likely win over a jury. In the 388-page report released last month, Hur concluded Biden mishandled and improperly disclosed classified information after leaving the vice-presidency. But Hur said that he didn’t believe there was enough evidence to charge Biden with a crime.
White House planning fact-check and rapid-response operation for Hur's testimony
From CNN's MJ Lee
The sun rises through the North Portico of the White House in Washington, DC, on March 11. Jim Watson/AFP/Getty Images
White House officials are planning a real-time, rapid-response and fact-checking operation for Robert Hur’s testimony on Capitol Hill on Tuesday, according to a White House official.
Hur’s highly anticipated appearance comes weeks after he released a controversial report on his investigation into Biden’s handling of classified materials. The then-special counsel decided not to bring charges.
Hur wrote Biden would potentially be seen by a jury as a “well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory.” He said the president was unable to recall, among other things, when his late son Beau died or the dates that he had served as vice president.
The White House has pushed back forcefully on Hur’s report, both in its substance and its motivation.
“We are preparing to make clear yet again that the conclusion of the investigation was that there was no case here,” the White House official said. “The report included hundreds of pages of evidence showing that there was no case to be made.”
7:45 a.m. ET, March 12, 2024
Special counsel Robert Hur on Biden classified documents probe: “I needed to show my work”
From CNN’s Marshall Cohen
Robert Hur speaks during a press briefing at the White House in 2017. Alex Brandon/AP/FILE
Special counsel Robert Hur is expected to tell the GOP-led House Judiciary Committee that his report on President Joe Biden’s handling of classified documents “had to include rigorous, detailed, and thorough analysis” of his decision not to recommend criminal charges, according to a draft of his opening statement obtained by CNN.
“I needed to show my work,” Hur will say.
Hur is also expected to address his decision to reference Biden’s memory in his report, saying, “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.”
7:24 a.m. ET, March 12, 2024
Here's what to consider before special counsel Hur's testimony
From CNN's Marshall Cohen, Annie Grayer and Clare Foran
All eyes on Tuesday will be on special counsel Robert Hur, who investigated President Joe Biden’s mishandling of classified documents and delivered a political bombshell with his conclusions about Biden’s memory.
During Hur's high-stakes hearing today, here are a few things to watch for:
What is he going to say about Biden's age and memory? Republicans will undoubtedly question Hur over Biden’s mental acuity after his report painted a damaging portrait of the president’s memory, which it called “significantly limited” and “hazy” at times. Biden and his allies have forcefully rejected that depiction.
How does Hur differentiate between Biden and Trump’s handling of classified material? Hur will be testifying Tuesday at a congressional hearing about Biden’s mishandling of classified documents. Two days later, there will be a court hearing in Florida about Trump’s allegedly illegal mishandling of classified documents, in the Mar-a-Lago case. Perhaps the most potent line of attack for Democrats on Tuesday will be Hur’s own explanation for why, essentially, Trump’s behavior was worse than Biden’s.
How will GOP tie this to impeachment? House Republicans are looking for Hur’s public testimony to provide fresh momentum to their sputtering impeachment inquiry into Biden. In their subpoena to the Justice Department for documents related to Hur’s probe ahead of the hearing, Republicans linked his work to their own investigation, saying they “are concerned that President Biden may have retained sensitive documents related to specific countries involving his family’s foreign business dealings.”
Hur will testify as a private citizen after DOJ says he wrapped up his work with the department last week
From CNN's Paula Reid
Robert Hur, who spent the past year as special counsel investigating classified documents found at President Joe Biden’s home and private office, finished up his work last week and is no longer with the Justice Department, according to a department spokesperson.
Hur, a former US attorney appointed by then-President Donald Trump, will testify on Capitol Hill on Tuesday as a private citizen.
Attorney General Merrick Garland appointed Hur as special counsel in January 2023. At the time, Hur, who had an extensive career at the Justice Department, had begun working in the private sector in Washington, DC.
