Department of Justice Defends Special Counsel Report on Biden’s Classified Documents Scandal

The Department of Justice (DOJ) has defended Special Counsel Robert Hur’s report on President Joe Biden’s handling of classified documents, stating that it was “consistent with legal requirements and Department policy.” The report, which was released last Thursday, sparked controversy and criticism from the White House, with Associate Deputy Attorney General Bradley Weinsheimer penning a letter to White House Counsel Ed Siskel and Personal Counsel to Joe Biden Bob Bauer to clarify the DOJ’s stance on the matter.

In the letter, Weinsheimer noted that the language in Hur’s report, which characterized Biden as an “elderly man with a poor memory,” was not “gratuitous” or “unduly prejudicial.” Instead, it was offered to explain Special Counsel Hur’s conclusions about the President’s state of mind in possessing and retaining classified information.

The associate deputy attorney general also pushed back against the White House’s claims that the report inappropriately commented on Biden’s conduct with classified documents. He argued that rather than commenting on uncharged conduct, Hur was applying the evidence he gathered to the applicable law.

Since the release of Hur’s report, the White House has pushed back against the findings that characterized Biden as an “elderly man with a poor memory.” Biden himself has been vocal about the report’s findings, lashing out that he “did not remember, even within several years, when his son Beau died.” However, sources later revealed to Fox News that it was Biden who brought up his son’s 2015 death, not Hur.

The report concluded that no criminal charges were warranted in the matter, and the White House and the Department of Justice did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.

Fox News’ David Spunt and Jake Gibson contributed to this report.

Sarah Rumpf-Whitten is a breaking news writer for Fox News Digital and Fox Business. She is a native of Massachusetts and is based in Orlando, Florida. Story tips and ideas can be sent to sarah.rumpf@fox.com and on Twitter @s_rumpfwhitten.