Garland defends Biden’s mental fitness at a hearing and says he has ‘complete confidence’ in him
WASHINGTON — Attorney General Merrick Garland told lawmakers Tuesday that President Joe Biden has shown no signs of cognitive impairment as he defended Biden’s ability to serve as commander in chief.
Garland, appearing before a House committee overseeing Justice Department funding, answered questions about special counsel Robert Hur’s report on Biden’s handling of classified materials. Hur’s report concluded there were no criminal charges, but did make some comments about Biden’s mental state that infuriated the Democratic president and his aides.
The attorney general emphasized that he was not commenting on the details of Hur’s analysis, but said that based on his own observations during the interaction with Biden, he has “complete confidence in the president” when it comes to questions about his mental fitness.
βI have seen the president effectively guide members of the department, his Cabinet and his military,β Garland said in response to questions from Rep. Ben Cline, R-Va. The attorney general added: βThe president is not impaired.β
As Cline pressed him further, Garland again emphasized, “I have complete confidence in the president and I reject your characterization.”
Hur said in his report, released in February, that prosecutors would likely be unable to prove a criminal case against Biden beyond a reasonable doubt when it came to the president’s alleged mishandling of classified documents. In one line from the report, Hur found that Biden “would likely present himself to a jury, as he did during our interview with him, as a likable, well-meaning, older man with a bad memory.”
Biden, in response, angrily insisted that his memory is fine, and was particularly incensed by Hur’s mention that he was apparently confused about the timing of his son Beau’s death in 2015.
Garland appeared before the House committee to testify about the Justice Department’s budget request.