The transcript of President Biden’s October interview with special counsel Robert Hur was released on March 12 ahead of Hur’s appearance before the House Judiciary Committee, CBS News reported.
In the transcript of the president’s 5-hour interview, Biden frequently veered off on bizarre tangents, often filibustering to avoid directly answering the special counsel’s questions on why he retained classified documents from his time in the Senate and as vice president.
The transcript confirmed everything Hur said about the president’s forgetfulness in his final report on his investigation, including the fact that Biden was unable to recall the year his son Beau died.
In a press conference following the release of Hur’s report, Biden blasted the special counsel for daring to bring up the death of his son during the interview. However, the transcript confirmed that it was Biden, not Robert Hur, who brought up Beau’s death.
At one point in the interview, Biden explained what was going on in 2017 and 2018 and noted that it was around that time that his son was deployed in Iraq and dying. When asked when Beau died, Biden was able to remember the month and day but not the year. One of the White House lawyers had to remind him that Beau died in 2015. In response, Biden asked, “Was it 2015 he had died?”
Biden was unable to explain why he had taken classified documents when he left office, claiming that he wasn’t paying attention when his staff packed his belongings before he moved out of the vice president’s residence at the Naval Observatory. He also told Hur that his staff was in charge of packing his West Wing office and he had no idea what files were removed.
Twice in the transcript, Biden struggled to recall the term “fax machine,” couldn’t remember what year Donald Trump took office, and confused both Iraq and Afghanistan with Iran. Every time the president struggled, one of his attorneys jumped in to correct him.
During his testimony before the House Judiciary Committee on March 12, Hur faced contentious questioning from both Republican and Democrat lawmakers, with Democrats accusing Hur of trying to influence the election in favor of Trump and Republicans blasting him for refusing to prosecute the president.
Throughout his testimony, Hur stood by the details in his report and his decision not to prosecute Biden despite his willful retention of classified materials.
