Special Counsel Interviewed Biden About Classified Documents in His Garage

President Joe Biden was interviewed by the special counsel investigating his handling of classified documents, the White House confirmed on Monday.

Summary

President Joe Biden was interviewed by the special counsel investigating his handling of classified documents, the White House confirmed on Monday.

• Biden sat for a voluntary interview in the White House with Special Counsel Robert Hur on Sunday and Monday.Hur was appointed by Attorney General Merrick Garland to investigate Biden’s improper handling of classified documents dating to his days in the US Senate and his vice presidency.
• Classified documents were found in several locations, including Biden’s home in Wilmington, his garage, and a private office in Washington DC.
• The interview was scheduled several weeks ago and occurred while the Middle East erupted in violence after Hamas terrorists mounted a brutal surprise attack on Israel.
• “The President has been interviewed as part of the investigation being led by Special Counsel Robert Hur,” said Biden spokesman Ian Sams. “As we have said from the beginning, the President and the White House are cooperating with this investigation, and as it has been appropriate, we have provided relevant updates publicly, being as transparent as we can consistent with protecting and preserving the integrity of the investigation.”
• “Interviews of this magnitude with the focus of the investigation would typically signal the inquiry is close to the end,” noted Politico’s Eugene Daniels and Josh Gerstein.
• Biden is the first sitting president to be interviewed by criminal investigators since former President George W. Bush was interviewed in 2004 during Special Counsel Patrick Fitzgerald’s inquiry into the leak of CIA officer Valerie Plame’s identity.
• Then-President Bill Clinton testified to a grand jury on-camera about his inappropriate relationship with Monica Lewinsky during the Ken Starr investigation.
• President-elect Barack Obama was interviewed shortly before taking office in 2008 as part of the FBI investigation into Democratic Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich, who attempted to auction off Obama’s Senate seat to the highest bidder. His sentence was later commuted by former President Donald Trump.

• The New York Times reported Hur has “exhaustively” interviewed anyone with any knowledge of how Biden handled classified documents and responded to their “discovery.” Hur has reportedly interviewed ex-White House Counsel Dana Remus, Biden’s first chief of staff Ron Klain, Secretary of State Antony Blinken, and National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan. 
• CNN noted Biden’s schedule gave hints that something important was going on behind the scenes. “The president had a light public schedule Sunday and Monday with no public events, and reporters were given relatively early notice that Biden would not have any public appearances. On Monday, the president met with administration officials about the fighting in Israel in the morning and spoke with allies in the afternoon.”
• The Washington Post reported the interview was conducted by Hur himself. The interview with Biden constitutes the latest of “dozens” of interviews of current and former members of Bidenworld.

• According to the Wall Street Journal, “Hur had been negotiating for weeks with Biden’s lawyers over the contours of an interview with the president.” The special counsel is expected to release a report on his findings at some point before the 2024 presidential election.
• The New York Post noted “The Nov. 2, 2022,  discovery by Biden’s lawyers of at least a dozen classified documents – some related to the United Kingdom, Ukraine and Iran – at his old office near the US Capitol was kept under wraps by the White House through the 2022 midterm elections and for weeks after. More sensitive documents were discovered in Biden’s Wimington home in January after an FBI search. The bureau also searched the president’s Rehoboth Beach, Del., home as part of the probe but did not turn up any additional documents.”
• Fox News observed then-President Bill Clinton testified to a grand jury on-camera about his inappropriate relationship with Monica Lewinsky during the Ken Starr investigation

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© Dominic Moore, 2023