Robert Hur’s testimony gives Republicans a Mueller moment

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Republicans won’t let President Biden’s handling of secret documents go unpunished after special counsel Robert Hur’s inquiry.

Why it matters: Hur’s report didn’t recommend criminal charges, but it highlighted political vulnerabilities like the president’s age and memory that Republicans want to exploit.

What to watch: Hur will speak Tuesday before the House Judiciary Committee, which includes some of Congress’ most pro-Trump Republicans.

Flashback: Top House Republicans once claimed that Democrats were politically motivated in calling former special counsel Robert Mueller to testify after the Trump-Russia inquiry.
Mueller and Hur did not suggest criminal charges against the president. However, his investigation into Russian election influence gave Democrats material for political assaults, which Republicans rejected.

What they say: In 2019, House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) called Mueller report hearings “wasting the American people’s time.”

While Mueller found no conspiracy between Trump and Russia, House Judiciary Committee Chair Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) stated that Democrats in Congress will continue to pursue the president at all costs.

• In 2019, House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.), who headed the Biden impeachment study, called Democrats’ Mueller emphasis a “witch hunt.” Tuesday will focus on special counsel Robert Hur, who probed President Joe Biden’s misuse of secret papers and revealed a political bombshell concerning his memory.
• The GOP-controlled House Judiciary Committee will grill the special counsel on his 388-page report released last month.
• The Hur found that Biden inappropriately released classified information as a private citizen after a year-long inquiry. Hur stated that there was insufficient evidence to arrest Biden and that he would not pursue charges even if the Justice Department approved it.
• However, Hur’s evaluation of Biden’s cognitive ability caused a stir in Washington. He called Biden a “well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory” and explained the difficult road prosecutors may have in seeking to convict him.

Here are four crucial points for Tuesday’s high-stakes hearing:

What will Hur say about Biden’s memory and age?

Hur’s study described Biden’s memory as “significantly limited” and “hazy” at times, prompting Republicans to question his mental health.

Biden and his friends strongly denied the report of a faulty memory, but Republicans soon used it to imply he is unsuitable to serve, especially because they are targeting Biden’s age in the 2024 presidential run. Biden, 81, is the oldest US president ever; Trump, 77, is just younger.

The article described Biden as an “elderly man with a poor memory,” stating that he was unable to recall the date of his son Beau’s death or his years as vice president under Barack Obama during an October interview with Hur’s office.

Later, a furious Biden told reporters, “I am well-meaning. Old man. I know what I’m doing.”

• “How dare he raise that?” Biden inquired about Beau’s death in the report. “I don’t need reminders of his death.”

According to White House officials and Biden’s personal lawyer, the report’s claims about the president’s memory are inaccurate. The interview occurred shortly after Hamas’ October 7 attack on Israel, and Biden was highly engaged despite the circumstances.

Considering Hur’s comments about Biden’s mental health, some House Republicans have called for the vice president and cabinet to invoke the 25th Amendment to remove him from office, arguing that the president appears unable to perform his duties.

• How does Hur differentiate between Biden’s and Trump’s handling of secret information? Hur will testify Tuesday at a congressional hearing on Biden’s secret document misuse. In the Mar-a-Lago case, brought by special counsel Jack Smith, a court hearing will take place in Florida two days later to address Trump’s alleged handling of secret documents. In Washington, political discussion has raged about the similarities and contrasts between the two probes and why Trump was prosecuted while Biden was not. (Trump denies culpability.)

On Tuesday, Democrats may use Hur’s explanation to argue that Trump’s behavior was worse than Biden’s. He emphasized the “material distinction” between the two probes and how Biden and Trump went opposite ways in his report.

Hur wrote that Mr. Trump allegedly disregarded multiple opportunities to return classified documents and avoid prosecution, while Mr. Biden cooperated with the investigation by turning in documents to the National Archives and Department of Justice, consenting to searches of his homes, and participating in voluntary interviews.

• Will Hur emphasize these distinctions while answering lawmakers? His tone and portrayal of Trump’s behavior will be widely monitored, particularly by Biden allies. Still, Republicans will point out that Trump was prosecuted while Biden was not.

This reinforces Trump’s campaign argument that the Justice Department and law enforcement are being “weaponized” against conservatives. This argument has been used to attack his four pending criminal cases.

What is the GOP plan to link this to impeachment?
Hur’s public testimony is expected to boost House Republicans’ slow Biden impeachment investigation.

•Republicans said in their subpoena to the Justice Department for Hur’s probe documents before the hearing that they “are concerned that President Biden may have retained sensitive documents related to specific countries involving his family’s foreign business dealings.” Republicans subpoenaed the transcript and audio recordings of Biden’s interview with the special counsel, but the Justice Department gave the House Oversight and Judiciary committees portions of them, according to a CNN letter.

• The letter states that the initial tranche comprises a December 2015 call sheet, talking points, and a non-verbatim transcript of a call between the Ukrainian prime minister and then-Vice President Biden for parliamentarians to review confidentially. Republicans have linked these documents to their impeachment investigation, specifically false accusations that Biden abused his powers to fire a top Ukrainian prosecutor who was investigating Burisma, a Ukrainian energy company that threatened the president’s son Hunter, who was on the board. Since 2019, these allegations have been widely disproved.