Former president and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump is criticizing the Justice Department after declining to prosecute Joe Biden for mishandling classified documents.
Special Counsel Robert Hur released a 388-page report Thursday determining that the DOJ would not file criminal charges against President Biden over his handling of classified documents.
The report delivered a damning conclusion that Biden was an “older man with poor memory” who became confused about the dates he was vice president and couldn’t even remember the year his son Beau died.
Biden’s biggest political rival Donald Trump, who faces 40 criminal charges over his own alleged mishandling of classified material, blasted Biden for getting away scot-free.
‘THIS IS NOW PROVEN TO BE A TWO DEGREES OF JUSTICE SYSTEM AND UNCONSTITUTIONAL SELECTIVE PROSECUTION! The Biden Documents case is a hundred times different and more serious than mine,” Trump said in a statement during his presidential campaign.
Former president and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump criticizes the Justice Department after declining to prosecute Joe Biden for mishandling classified documents
Department of Justice photos show boxes and boxes of files stored in unsafe locations, such as the garage of his home.
President Joe Biden will not be criminally charged with stashing classified documents in his garage and private office
He claimed ‘I did nothing wrong’ and was ‘much more cooperative’ than his successor.
“What Biden did is outrageously criminal – he had 50 years of documents, 50 times more than I do, and he ‘MUCH KEPT’ them.”
“I was covered by the Presidential Records Act, the Secret Service was always present and the GSA provided the documents. Crazy Jack Smith should drop this case immediately. ELECTION INTERFERENCE,” the statement continued.
While the report does not recommend filing charges against the 81-year-old, it offers a flurry of damaging findings about files found in Biden’s garage and about the president’s fitness for office.
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The image in Special Counsel Robert Hur’s report shows a damaged box in which classified documents were found in Biden’s garage in Wilmington, DE
Former U.S. Attorney Robert Hur was appointed by Attorney General Merrick Garland in January 2023 to serve as special counsel investigating Biden’s handling of classified documents.
While Biden will not be charged over classified documents, Trump faces a total of 40 charges over his handling of classified documents since he left office in 2017. The most serious charge carries a prison sentence of up to 20 years.
Trump was first charged last June in special counsel Jack Smith’s investigation into the mishandling of classified documents discovered at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago home.
The indictment alleged that Trump repeatedly enlisted aides and lawyers to help him hide documents from officials.
A superseding indictment in July added charges accusing Trump of requesting the deletion of surveillance footage from his Florida estate after a visit by federal investigators to collect classified documents.
Hur, who was appointed U.S. attorney by Trump in 2018, noted “several material differences” between Trump’s classified documents case and Biden’s case.
“Notably, after being given multiple opportunities to return classified documents and avoid prosecution, Mr. Trump reportedly did the opposite,” the report said. “According to the indictment, he not only refused to return the documents for months, but also obstructed justice by enlisting others to destroy evidence and then lie about it.”
“In contrast, Mr. Biden has surrendered classified documents to the National Archives and the Department of Justice, consented to the search of multiple locations, including his homes, participated in a voluntary interview, and otherwise cooperated with the investigation,” the report said. continued.
The Biden report said the special counsel did not consider every circumstance in which criminal charges against the former president or vice president for mishandling classified information might be warranted, but on the facts in the Biden case.
Last year, the Justice Department also closed an investigation and declined to charge former Vice President Mike Pence after classified documents were also found in his Indiana home.