In the forthcoming days, an eagerly awaited report by special counsel Robert Hur will be made public, marking the conclusion of a yearlong investigation into the presence of classified documents at President Joe Biden’s residence and office.
A senior law enforcement official familiar with the matter has disclosed this development, emphasizing that no criminal charges are anticipated in the report. However, the extent to which the report may critique Biden and his aides for handling classified information remains uncertain.
The Justice Department’s imminent release of Hur’s report has been reported by The Washington Post, confirming expectations that the findings will soon be accessible to the public.
President Biden (Credits: The Washington Post)
The report is poised to shed light on the investigation’s outcomes, offering insights into whether Biden or his associates will face censure for any lapses in their management of classified materials.
Sources have revealed that advisers to Biden have privately expressed concerns about the report’s potential to exonerate him from criminal wrongdoing while publicly highlighting instances of perceived carelessness or negligence in handling classified materials.
This apprehension drew parallels to the 2016 presidential campaign when then-FBI Director James Comey made a similar public statement regarding former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s handling of classified information.
Both the White House and Biden’s attorney, Bob Bauer, declined to comment on the matter when approached for a response on Tuesday. Attorney General Merrick Garland had appointed Robert Hur as special counsel to conduct the investigation. As part of his mandate, Hur must produce a comprehensive report detailing his findings.
NBC News has previously reported that Hur interviewed President Biden and his son, Hunter Biden, as part of the investigation. The inquiry was initiated after classified documents, seemingly from the Obama administration era, were discovered at the Penn Biden Center and Biden’s residence in Delaware.
Some of the documents recovered from his home were linked to his tenure as a senator, as revealed by Bauer in January 2023. Notably, Biden had utilized the Penn Biden Center as a personal office following his term as vice president.
The White House has maintained that upon identifying records with classified markings, they promptly surrendered them to the appropriate authorities, emphasizing President Biden’s cooperation with the investigation.
This impending report coincides with former President Donald Trump facing trial in Florida over criminal charges related to his handling of classified documents found at Mar-a-Lago. The indictment, filed in June, detailed the discovery of over 100 classified documents at the Florida club, some marked “Top Secret.”
Subsequent indictments suggested that Trump aimed to prevent government officials from accessing the documents, outlining an alleged scheme to obstruct the investigation. Trump has pleaded not guilty to the charges.
