Chairman Jordan Opening Statement at Hearing on the Report of Special Counsel Robert K. Hur
WATCH Chairman Jordan's opening statement here.
Transcript:
Robert Hur was appointed special counsel on January 12, 2023.
He had a fundamental question to address: Did Joe Biden unlawfully retain classified information?
The answer: Yes, he did.
Page one of Mr. Hur’s report he says this: "Our investigation uncovered evidence that President Biden willfully retained and disclosed classified materials after his vice presidency when he was a private citizen."
He further writes, "Mr. Biden willfully retained marked classified documents about Afghanistan and handwritten notes in his notebooks, which he stored in unsecure places in his home."
Joe Biden kept classified information, and Joe Biden failed to store classified information properly.
Mr. Hur made these determinations after interviewing 147 witnesses; he examined 7 million documents, including emails, text messages, photographs, videos, toll records, and other materials from both classified and unclassified sources.
But there's more, Joe Biden not only kept information he wasn't allowed to keep, and he not only failed to secure that information properly, he also shared it with people he wasn't allowed to - who weren't allowed to see it.
He shared that information with his ghostwriter, and remember, this is information that only individuals with the security clearance are supposed to see.
Mr. Hur told us on page 200 of his report, that it's the kind of information that quote, "Risk serious damage to America's national security."
What did Joe Biden have to say about all this, what was his explanation?
On page 94, Mr. Hur’s report, Joe Biden said he took his notebooks with him after his vice presidency because, quote, “They're mine. And every president before me has done the same exact thing.”
Never mind the fact that he had never been president when he took this information, but what comes through is Joe Biden felt he was entitled, you can almost hear it, you can feel the arrogance in the statement, “They’re mine.”
But even with all that, Mr. Hur choose not to bring charges, because, quote, "Mr. Biden would likely present himself to a jury, as he did in our interview of him as a sympathetic, well-meaning elderly man with a poor memory."
A forgetful old man who Mr. Hur said did not remember when he was vice president, forgetting on the first day of the interview when his term ended, and forgetting on the second day of the interview, when his term as vice president began.
Mr. Hur produced a 345-page report, but in the end, it boils down to a few key facts.
Joe Biden kept classified information.
Joe Biden failed to properly secure classified information.
And Joe Biden shared classified information with people he wasn't supposed to.
Joe Biden broke the law, but because he's forgetful old man who would appear sympathetic to a jury; Mr. Hur choose not to bring charges.
Mr. Hur, we think it's important that you be able to respond to President Biden's response to your report.
So, we're going to play a short video of President Biden's press conference after your report was released because there's things in this press conference that the president of the United States says that are directly contradicted by what you found in your report.
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