Despite concluding that Biden 'intentionally withheld classified documents,' the special counsel decided not to charge him

After more than a year of investigation, Attorney General Robert Hur released his report on Joe Biden and his handling of classified documents. In more than 300 pages, the prosecutor ruled that while the president did not handle the situation in the best way, his findings did not warrant filing charges against him.

In the special counsel's own words, the Democrat "willfully retained and disclosed classified materials after his vice presidency when he was a private citizen."

"However, for the reasons summarized below, we conclude that the evidence does not establish Mr. Biden's guilt beyond a reasonable doubt."

Initially nominated by Donald Trump, Hur was appointed in January 2023 to investigate classified documents found in Biden's private office and his garage in Delaware. At the time, Attorney General Merrick Garland said the appointment was a sign of the Department's "commitment to both independence and accountability in particularly sensitive matters."

The report also included detailed photographs of documents in the president's garage, which included "top secret/sensitive compartmentalized information" related to foreign policy in Afghanistan.

Joe Biden's response

The president welcomed the report and sought to highlight his willingness to collaborate with the special prosecutor's investigation. On Thursday, he said he was "pleased" that the report did not recommend filing any charges.

In turn, he said his cooperation with Hur was what the Americans deserved. "I just believed that's what I owed the American people so they could know no charges would be brought and the matter closed," the president added.

"I was so determined to give the Special Counsel what they needed that I went forward with five hours of in-person interviews over two days on October 8th and 9th of last year, even though Israel had just been attacked on October 7th and I was in the middle of handling an international crisis," Biden concluded.

The president's lawyer, Bob Bauer, stated that the special counsel "failed to refrain from excessive investigation, perhaps unsurprising given the intense pressures of the current political environment."

"Whatever the impact of those pressures on the Final Report, it flouts the Department's regulations and standards. Very little in this work contributes to a clear and succinct understanding of a straightforward conclusion: no misconduct, no charges justified," Bauer added.