After Special Counsel Robert Hur released a damning, 388 page report revealing President Joe Biden's willful and illegal retainment of classified information as a private citizen, in addition to his alarming mental decline, House Republicans plan to dive further into the details.
President Joe Biden sat down with Hur for a lengthy interview, which was discussed extensively in the report, on October 9, 2023.
"Mr. Biden's memory was significantly limited, both during his recorded interviews with the ghostwriter in 2017, and in his interview with our office in 2023. Mr. Biden's memory also appeared to have significant limitations-both at the time he spoke to [Mark] Zwonitzer in 2017, as evidenced by their recorded conversations, and today, as evidenced by his recorded interview with our office. Mr. Biden's recorded conversations with Zwonitzer from 2017 are often painfully slow, with Mr. Biden struggling to remember events and straining at times to read and relay his own notebook entries," the report states.
Zwonitzer is Biden's memoir ghostwriter, with whom he improperly shared classified information.
"In his interview with our office, Mr. Biden's memory was worse. He did not remember when he was vice president, forgetting on the first day of the interview when his term ended ('if it was 2013 - when did I stop being Vice President?'), and forgetting on the second day of the interview when his term began ('in 2009, am I still Vice President?'). He did not remember, even within several years, when his son Beau died," the report continues. "And his memory appeared hazy when describing the Afghanistan debate that was once so important to him. Among other things, he mistakenly said he 'had a real difference' of opinion with General Karl Eikenberry, when, in fact, Eikenberry was an ally whom Mr. Biden cited approvingly in his Thanksgiving memo to President Obama."
The House Oversight Committee wants the transcript of that interview, which was not included in the report.
Further, the Committee wants to know whether Biden used the classified information in his possession -- much of which was about Ukraine -- to further his family enrichment through Hunter Biden's foreign business dealings. Much of the classified information was stored in Biden's Wilmington, Delaware garage. Hunter spent much of the COVID-19 pandemic living in the Wilmington home with regular access to the boxes.
"Important questions remain about the extent of Joe Biden retaining sensitive materials related to specific countries involving his family’s influence peddling schemes that brought in millions for the Bidens. While the Justice Department has closed its investigation, the Oversight Committee’s investigation continues. We will continue to provide the transparency and accountability owed to the American people,” House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer said in response to the Special Counsel report.