Robert Hur Testifies Before Congress
The embattled Special Counsel defends his record for the House of Representatives
We tried something different today at the Country - live tweeting of current events! Below, is an unroll of my tweets (@JWTheCountry on X) during today’s testimony before the first adjournment. I’ve made minor corrections from the original to correct typos and to make my contemporaneous notes more readable. Hope you enjoy!
Robert Hur testimony about to begin in Congress!
Looks like the hearing may be delayed - appears there are protesters getting their moment of fame in the room.
Hur now enters the courtroom. Reports are that he has resigned from the DoJ to testify. Does that signal a rift with the agency or potential bombshells?
Or, a way to avoid certain testimony as it’s classified (ie no comment) as he’s now a private citizen.
House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan opens the hearing with a review of the worst parts of the Hur report, including the President’s memory problems.
Plays @POTUS press conference video (the President’s press conference from February 8th where he initially responded to the Hur report).
In the video, the President claims to the press that he was not sharing classified information with his ghost writer. He claims the information was not classified, and blames his staff completely. Claims he didn’t know the staff placed classified docs in his garage nor that they were there.
The majority makes sure to continue the video into Biden’s memory lapses and gaffes about Gaza, including confusing the Presidents of Mexico and Egypt, which is not relevant to the Hur testimony but reminds all of the President’s memory issues.
Rep Jerry Nadler now gives the minority opening remarks, asks if Hur read his own report (presumably a reaction to Hur’s prepared opening statement which has not been read in the hearing by the witness yet) Nadler claims the report is the “complete and total exoneration” of President Biden.
Then turns to Trump’s case, which is also irrelevant to the testimony today.
Will Ds spend all their time on Trump today?
Nadler addresses “gratuitous comments” of Robert Hur’s report
Once again, “completely exonerated” then turns to Trump again.
Nadler plays a montage video of Trump gaffes.
Clearly the plan today for Democrats is to say, “whatever Biden did, Trump is worse.”
Now Rep Comer, Chairman of the Oversight Committee.
Runs through the timeline of Biden classified documents, including how the White House hid their existence until after the mid-term elections of 2022.
Rep Armstrong establishes the President’s conduct met every element of the crime: possession, willful retention, and sharing of national defense secrets with unauthorized personnel (the President’s ghost writer).
Nadler wants yes or no answers and answers “correct” for the witness.
Nadler is not getting what he wants from Robert Hur. Hur refuses to comment on Trump’s case.
Nadler again answers his own question when he doesn’t like Hur’s answer.
And again. “Your report is clear on that.”
Rep McClintock attacks the #Hur report asking if he’s now allowed to ”in this new doctrine” take home classified documents and keep them in his basement.
McClintock brings up the distinction that Trump was President and an officer that can classify docs - Biden never was as a Senator nor VP.
McClintock: all I have to do to avoid the crime is say, “I’m sorry Mr. Hur I’m old and can’t remember,” and I can get away with it?
Rep Lofgren notes that Reagan had personal diaries and the DoJ viewed them as “personal records,” and never attempted to retrieve them. Says this is a precedent for Biden and that his notebooks were personal property.
Jim Jordan: Mr Hur, why did President Biden do it? He was deeply familiar with the rules but failed to follow them for decades.
“President Biden had strong motivations to ignore” the rules. Because he decided before leaving office to write a book.
And he began meeting with the highest writer before leaving office.
Biden’s book advance was $8M. Jordan believes this is the motive.
Jordan continues: the book would buttress his reputation as a world leader.
Summarizes Biden’s motive as pride and money.
Hur confirms the elements Jordan is referencing if not the conclusion.
POTUS Jordan and Hur agree Biden’s ghost writer attempted to destroy the evidence after the Special Counsel was announced.
Rep Raskin confirms the President’s “exoneration” though if we remember the Mueller report noted that the fact that no charges were filed does not mean one is exonerated.
Raskin rambles on in a stump speech about Nazism, Fascism, Communism and Authoritarianism. Throws mud at Trump for meeting with Viktor Orban, President of Hungary.
Mentions the State of the Union multiple times as proof it’s democracy against authoritariansRep Comer has the floor again, seems to be attempting to connect the #Biden family businesses with the classified documents request. Multiple government employees visit g the Penn-Biden center (where some of the classified docs were stored) for the purpose of responding to the Hunter Biden inquiries.
Rep Jackson’s Lee asks a number of confirming questions to repeat what we know: the Special Counsel did not charge President Biden. Hur confirms he acted independently.
Rep Gaetz confirms President Biden lied at the Feb 8th Press Conference. Hur can only give the legalese answers: that President Biden’s comments were inconsistent with the facts.
Gaetz states both Biden and Trump should not have been charged.
Gaetz calls the reason Biden was not charged “the senile cooperator,” defense.
Wonders whether the lies are cynical or a result of Biden’s memory.
Repeats the Penn-Biden Center at UPenn (where some docs were found) is funded by Chinese interests.
Rep Gaetz wants to know why the ghost writer hasn’t been charged with obstruction of justice.
Hur refers back to the report.
The democrats continue to ask closed ended questions which will simply lead them to the headline/talking point that’s hard to argue:
Robert Hur confirms what we already know. President Biden was “exonerated” from all charges.
The next line will presumably be “can we get on with the business of the United States now?” (speculation by me)
Gaetz’ “senile” comment has been condemned by the last Rep (I forget his name, apologies!)
The Senate btw is concurrently holding an Intel Committee meeting with Intel Chiefs on “World Threats.” A quick check shows all 3 major cable news (CNN, MSNBC and FOX) all carrying Hur.
We know where our priorities are!
Democrats continue (with Rep Johnson) to confirm their understanding of the report with closed ended questions.
I’ve started to call these filibuster questions. An opportunity for them to force Hur to repeat over and over that he declined to charge the President.
Rep Johnson says #Hur trashed the President in his report.
Hur rejects the claim as they talk over each other.
The Congressman then accuses Hur of producing the report to get a job in the next administration.
Questions are becoming repetitive on both sides. Will only tweet new ideas/takes from here.
Hur refuses to comment on the Jack Smith investigation after prodding from Rep Van Drew
Rep Schiff is up, accuses Hur of playing politics in the report.
They talk over each other.
Schiff accuses Hur over and over of knowing that the report would be released and thus was political.
Hur directly refutes Schiff’s opinion.
Rep Swalwell asks Hur to pledge he won’t accept an appointment in the coming Trump administration. This is not the first reference to some sort of patronage seeking, an attempt to impugn SC Hur’s reputation.
The Ds in this committee are all assuming Trump is going to win?
Swalwell has an especially smug look on his face as he replays the video of Trump’s many gaffes.
More filibuster questions from Rep Jayapal.
Hur finally challenged the word “exoneration” during Jayapal’s questioning. States it was not his job to exonerate, and that he did not do so, as we noted before.
Rep. Spartz wonders if the President didn’t outsmart everyone by pretending not to remember in order to escape prosecution. Doesn’t every witness present as affable and say they don’t recall?
Chairman Jordan digging into the White House letters where they requested changes to the Hur report after receiving an advance copy. Jordan wonders whether it was appropriate for the White House to ask the AG for changes to references to the memory issues in the report.
Rep Tiffany respectfully calls #Hur a member of the praetorian guard which protects the Washington elite. References Hunter getting away with his felony gun purchase.
Rep Fitzgerald confirms Hur did not find the President senile, as Rep. Gaetz claimed earlier.
Rep Raskin is called out for a second time for misstating elements of the #Hur report. Imagine that.
Rep Neguse draws a distinction between the release of the Hur report and the Mueller report in a shot at former AG Barr and presumably the Trump Administration.
Rep Moore establishes with Hur that Presidents can declassify, asks if former Presidents can and Hur says he is unsure.
Rep Raskin called out a third time, by Rep Kiley, Hur responds again that he did not exonerate the President.
Rep Kiley points out rightly that President Trump’s house had already been raided in his similar case when President Biden decided to cooperate, which limits the mitigating factor of his cooperation. Hur declined to agree.
Rep Hageman: President Biden knew what he was doing was wrong, but now because he suffers from impaired memory can get away with it.
Rep Escobar continues to make the case against Trump for the Ds.
I bet SC Smith is very happy that the Democratic caucus decided to prejudice the entire jury pool with details of his case against the former President.
Rep Lee - my Congresswoman! - gets Hur to agree that, in effect, the underlying elements of the Biden and Trump doc cases should be considered consistently regardless of the facts or circumstances of the case.
An important distinction by Ms. Lee, showing perhaps that the only difference between the Biden and Trump cases are their actions after the crime was discovered in each case.
Actually the second distinction, including Rep. McClintock’s questioning above about the difference between a Senator’s or VP’s as compared to a sitting or former President.
According to Rep Armstrong, what the American people see: since 2016 only 3 people have run for President. All 3 have been accused of breaking the classified document laws of the land. Only one has been prosecuted.
Ms. Clinton’s team wiped her servers and smash devices either hammers to avoid prosecution.
Armstrong (continued):
Biden has a 50 year record of keeping documents despite clear understanding of the law. He retained documents from the 1970s to today.
Rep. Moore goes on to point out SC Smith is known to be “overzealous” and that no President nor VP has ever been charged with such a crime. Hur declined to comment.
Rep. Bush takes her time at this hearing to audition for a slot at the Democratic National Convention. SC Hur looks done with this.
Hearing ends for a vote.