Biden Interviewed by Docs Case Special Counsel

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Facts

  • The White House on Monday announced that Pres. Joe Biden was interviewed by Justice Dept. (DOJ) special counsel Robert Hur, who is investigating Biden's potential mishandling of classified documents.1
  • Biden was interviewed voluntarily at the White House over Sunday and Monday about the documents, which were found at his Delaware home and a private office and dated to his days as a senator and vice president.2
  • The White House has said that Biden, who maintains he was surprised by the discovery of the documents, has cooperated throughout Hur’s investigation.3
  • Hur was appointed in January by US Attorney General Merrick Garland. Special counsels are utilized to handle sensitive cases that usually involve political figures or the government, and they have more independence to decide whether to bring charges.4
  • Hur’s case is continuing while former Pres. Donald Trump faces criminal charges stemming from two investigations conducted by special counsel Jack Smith, including one related to the handling of classified documents after the end of Trump's term.5
  • Trump Vice President Mike Pence had also uncovered classified documents at his home.6

Sources: 1USA Today, 2Associated Press, 3Reuters, 4Al Jazeera, 5CNN and 6Breitbart.

Narratives

  • Republican narrative, as provided by Daily Wire. Any hope that Biden’s DOJ — even with a special counsel leading the investigation — was going to charge Biden with the same crimes Smith is charging Trump with was clearly misguided. It appears that Hur’s team is already leaning toward chalking Biden’s document retention to carelessness — a term used when the DOJ decided not to charge Hilary Clinton for her misdeeds. Clearly, there’s a double standard at play here.
  • Democratic narrative, as provided by New York Times. There are vast differences between the two special counsel cases. Biden has cooperated from the start, first revealing the discovery of the documents and now agreeing to speak with Hur. Trump, in contrast, refused to turn over the documents and continues to claim he had the right to retain them or that he had the power to declassify them. This isn’t unequal justice; it’s the way the system works.