House GOP schedules public hearing with Hur on classified docs report

Special counsel Robert Hur will testify before the House Judiciary Committee on March 12 about his investigation into President Joe Biden’s mishandling of classified documents, a person familiar told POLITICO.

The public hearing comes after the Justice Department released Hur’s report earlier this month that concluded that criminal charges against Biden wouldn’t be warranted — even if the Justice Department lacked an internal policy against prosecuting sitting presidents. Hur’s investigation found evidence that Biden “willfully retained and disclosed classified materials after his vice presidency” but that it didn’t “establish Mr. Biden’s guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.”

The charging decision might be less interesting to House Republicans, however, than another part of the report. Hur described that Biden would be perceived in any court proceedings as a “sympathetic, well-meaning elderly man with a poor memory.”

Republicans have made Biden’s mishandling of classified documents part of their sweeping impeachment inquiry into the president, which has largely focused on the business dealings of his family members.

In addition to public testimony from Hur, Republicans sent a letter to Attorney General Merrick Garland requesting the transcript of Hur’s interview with Biden, as well as classified documents referenced in the report.