Revisiting the Hur Report in Light of Biden's Implosion

By Hans Mahncke & Jeff Carlson

Back in February, Special Counsel Robert Hur reported that Joe Biden was a “well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory”, that Biden’s “memory was significantly limited” and that he had “diminished faculties in advancing age.” The report also described that Biden could not remember what years he was vice president, nor when his son died. 

Democrats and the media dismissed the report, claiming that Hur was something akin to a MAGA fanatic, which is demonstrably not true. But as so often, the truth did not matter. What mattered were false narratives that preserved Democrats’ hold on power. And so the problem seemingly went away. But the cognitive decline observed by Hur, and all of us who were paying attention instead of listening to the media, is not something that can be hidden forever.

Unfortunately for Biden, the problem reemerged on the public stage at the worst possible time, during the first presidential debate. Everyone could see for themselves that Biden was no longer with it. He wasn’t able to string together even simple sentences. He mumbled and stumbled through every answer. It was painful to watch. Many of us felt vicarious shame, but the shame was with the Bidens, Democrats, and the media. They all knew about Biden’s mental frailty, yet covered it up, hoping that they could somehow muddle through until November. 

And this brings us back to Special Counsel Hur. Re-reading Hur’s report in retrospect, it is perhaps even more shocking than it was in the first place. What is certainly more shocking in retrospect is that the report was dismissed instead of being taken seriously. 

What kind of country is it where a serious and experienced professional unequivocally states that the commander in chief is too senile to stand trial, yet the entire elite, from the DC political class to the media, simply turns a blind eye? This is reminiscent of something we’d expect in North Korea, but it occurred in the United States. 

Source: Hur Report (p. 6)

Contrary to media claims, Hur is not a Trump loyalist. That was just made up. He was appointed as special counsel by Biden’s hand-picked attorney general. While it is true that Hur was nominated as United States Attorney for the District of Maryland by President Trump, this was done under the blue slip process. This means that Hur had been proposed by Maryland’s Senators, both of whom are Democrats. Hur was a liaison to Special Counsel Robert Mueller's fraudulent investigation into Trump. Additionally, Hur was an Assistant United States Attorney under Obama. Before that, Hur was counsel to FBI director Christopher Wray when Wray was still at the Department of Justice. So no, Hur is not a MAGA aficionado.

What is even more noteworthy is that Hur was not the one who released the report that discussed Biden’s senility. That was Merrick Garland, Biden’s own attorney general. After Hur wrote his report, it was reviewed by both the White House and Hur’s superiors at the Department of Justice before being made public. Biden’s aides attempted to prevent the sections about Biden’s senility from being disclosed, but Garland proceeded to release those sections, along with the rest of the report. This is highly significant because Garland was not obligated to do so. As the attorney general, he had the discretion to release the complete report, a partial report, or nothing at all. In hindsight, Garland's decision to release all the information signaled the first signs of cracks in the Democrats' unwavering support for Biden.

But was there more to it? There probably was. What is often overlooked is that Hur’s “investigation uncovered evidence that President Biden willfully retained and disclosed classified materials after his vice presidency when he was a private citizen”. Those are his words, not ours. And it’s even worse than that. According to Hur, Biden gave classified documents to his ghostwriter. Although the ghostwriter tried to delete all of his recordings of Biden after Hur’s appointment–which would have been the cause of instant indictments had it been Trump–Hur managed to recover one recording in which Biden told the ghostwriter, “just found all the classified stuff downstairs.” That means that Biden met the mens rea, or requisite intent, standard to be prosecuted for disclosure of classified information. 

But, as already discussed, Hur recommended not charging Biden because he was deemed too senile to be prosecuted.

Far from Hur being a MAGA fan who tried to throw Biden under the bus, Hur effectively helped Biden avoid criminal prosecution. As to why Hur disclosed Biden’s senility, the fact is that he had no choice. Given that Trump had just been charged by Special Counsel Jack Smith for the exact same offense which Hur found that Biden had also committed, Hur’s hand was forced. He had to provide some sort of justification.

In retrospect, it appears as if the senility defense was perfect. It was cogent because it was true. But it could also serve as a heads up to Democrats: Listen, your guy is shot, you still have a year to fix this, make use of that time. This is all the more notable because Garland, or whoever calls the shots at the Department of Justice, agreed with Hur.

It would have been easy to use Hur’s report to prod Biden to bow out. What is more, if Biden, or “Dr” Jill, had resisted, Democrats could have insisted on having a proper primary process, instead of a coronation. They could have allowed Robert Kennedy to take part. There would have been debates. In short, Biden’s condition would’ve become known to Democrat voters far earlier, with far more time remaining to make a switch. But Democrats, with the help of the media, ignored the warnings and decided to attack the messenger.

Now, Democrats have a huge mess on their hands, a problem that is compounded by the fact the we still haven’t heard Hur’s tape recording of Biden’s senile ramblings. To be fair, the tape may not be that shocking to those of us who have watched Biden's mental decline, but its closely guarded nature is noteworthy. Why is the tape being held back? Is Garland, or whoever calls the shots, keeping the tape locked up because it is an insurance policy? The fact that Garland was willing to be held in contempt of Congress rather than release the tape indicates its sensitivity. 

One argument that has not been emphasized enough is that Biden cannot have it both ways. He cannot evade criminal responsibility on the basis of senility and simultaneously assert his capability to serve as president until 2029. Ultimately, the situation is very simple: If Biden successfully completes a cognitive test, he should face prosecution for the offenses detailed in Hur's report. If he fails the test, he should step down from the presidency.