The prosecutor in the case of the classified documents leaked by Biden rules out filing charges

Trump claims there is "fraudulent justice" and that a "selective prosecution" has been carried out against him

Special prosecutor Robert Hur has concluded in a report that the President of the United States, Joe Biden, "intentionally" withheld and revealed classified documents, although he has ruled out filing charges against him due to his advanced age and for collaborating throughout the process. .

"Our investigation uncovered evidence that President Biden intentionally withheld and disclosed classified materials after his vice presidency when he was a private citizen," reads the 345-page report, adding that "no criminal charges are warranted in this matter."

In this sense, he has alluded to the "reasonable doubts" that would exist if Biden were tried because he is an "old man with a bad memory." "It would be difficult to convince a jury that they should convict you of a serious crime that requires a voluntary state of mind," he adds.

For all this, he defends that there are "clear" differences between the case of Biden and his predecessor, Donald Trump, accused of more than thirty charges of negligence in the use of confidential documents, found in his residence in Mar-a- Lake, in Florida.

"Most notably, after receiving multiple opportunities to return classified documents and avoid prosecution, Trump allegedly did the opposite," he says, adding that, in contrast, the current president turned over the material to the National Archives and the Department of Justice. .

Hur also highlights that the current president consented to the search for the documents in "multiple places", including his homes, while he also carried out a voluntary interview, as reported by CNN.

Shortly after, Biden issued a statement in which he highlighted that the investigation has been "exhaustive" and dates back to the 1970s, when he was a senator. "I'm glad to see that they came to the conclusion that I thought they would: that no charges will be filed in this case and that the matter is closed," he said.

Likewise, he has indicated that he has collaborated with Hur's work. "I didn't put up obstacles and I didn't seek delays. In fact I was so determined to give the special counsel what he needed that I went ahead with five hours of in-person interviews over two days," she recalled.

Later, former President Donald Trump has argued that there is a biased justice system and "selective prosecution." "He should not be allowed to get away with this and was not protected by the presidential records law," he said.

Likewise, Trump has accused Biden of following the "usual and corrupt Democratic playbook." "He 'willfully withheld' documents. This is fraudulent justice: the deranged Jack Smith and his thugs should immediately drop the totally discredited misleading documents against me," he argued.

Garland appointed Hur, a lawyer at a firm in Washington D.C. and former federal prosecutor for Maryland during the Donald Trump Administration, as an investigator in the case more than a year ago, in January 2023.

Biden's lawyers found classified government documents at the Penn Biden Center for Diplomacy and Global Engagement in Washington, a private entity of the president attached to the University of Pennsylvania, where he was an honorary professor between 2017 and 2019.

Likewise, more sheets were found in the garage, offices and basement of Biden's residence in Delaware and in another of his rented homes in Virginia, where he worked together with a writer from whom he commissioned a biography about his political life.

According to the report, among the material found was classified US foreign policy information on Afghanistan, as well as notebooks with handwritten notes on national security and intelligence during his time as vice president.