United States: President Joe Biden is a “well-meaning old man with a bad memory”

a special prosecutor ruled out criminal charges this Thursday against US President Joe Biden for hiding confidential documents, but described him as “a well-meaning old man with a bad memory.”

The report takes away weight from Biden, candidate for re-election in the presidential elections in November, who will likely compete with his predecessor, Republican Donald Trump.

The latter risks a criminal trial on charges of having taken many confidential documents with him when he left the White House and of having refused to cooperate with investigators.

However, according to special prosecutor Hur, the memory of the current president is so impaired He doesn’t even remember what date he was vice president. and when his son Beau, who died of cancer in 2015, died.

A spokeswoman for Trump, Karoline Leavitt, reacted with a message on the social network X: “How can we trust his ability to lead our country?” if your memory has significant limitations??”

Republicans described the document as “deeply troubling.”

“A man too incapable of taking responsibility for mishandling classified information is certainly not fit for the Oval Office,” said the speaker of the House of Representatives, Republican Mike Johnson, close to Trump.

The White House says it is “satisfied” with the decision not to press charges against Biden, 81, but disagrees “with a number of inaccurate and inappropriate comments contained in the special prosecutor’s report.”

Hur was appointed in January 2023 by Attorney General Merrick Garland after secret documents were found in a Biden home in Wilmington, Delaware, and a former office. They date back to when he was Barack Obama’s vice president (2009-2017).

The 388-page report states that Biden has “intentionally concealed and disclosed confidential material” after leaving the vice presidency, long before defeating Trump in 2020.

Hur, previously appointed by Trump as Maryland’s chief state attorney, explains that FBI agents have recovered, among other things, documents on military affairs and foreign policy in Afghanistan.

No processing

“We conclude that the evidence they are not enough condemn him and we exclude recommending prosecuting Biden for withholding classified documents from Afghanistan,” he said.

He also rules out the possibility of a jury wanting to convict Biden.

It seemed to the researchers that a “sympathetic, well-meaning old man with a bad memory”he points out, and believes it is “difficult to convince a jury to convict him” when he is over 80 years old.

Hur sees differences in Biden and Trump secret document scandals.

According to the indictment, Trump “not only refused to return the documents for many months, but he also obstructed justice hiring others to destroy evidence and then lying about it.”

“To the contrary, Biden provided classified documents to the National Archives and the Department of Justice, agreed to search multiple locations, including his homes, submitted to a voluntary interview, and otherwise cooperated with the investigation,” the statement said. document.

Trump, 77 years old, he pleaded not guilty in June to multiple charges for unlawful retention of national defense information, conspiracy to obstruct justice and making false statements.

Special Prosecutor Jack Smith accuses him of endangering national security by withholding top-secret nuclear and defense information after leaving the White House. His trial is scheduled for May.