US President Joe Biden has hit back angrily at an investigation that found he mishandled top secret files and struggled to recall key life events.
“My memory is fine,” he insisted in a surprise news briefing.
He gave an emotional response to a claim that he could not recollect when his son died, saying, “How the hell dare he raise that?”
The inquiry found Mr. Biden “wilfully retained and disclosed” classified files but decided not to charge him.
Department of Justice Special Counsel Robert Hur determined Mr. Biden had improperly kept classified documents related to military and foreign policy in Afghanistan after serving as vice president.
The scathing 345-page report, released earlier in the day, said the president’s memory had “significant limitations.”.
Even as Mr. Biden sought to rebut reporters’ questions about his age and mental acuity, he inadvertently referred to Egyptian leader Abdul Fattah al-Sisi as the “president of Mexico.”.
Even as Mr. Biden attempted to answer reporters’ inquiries about his age and mental acuity, he unintentionally referred to Egyptian President Abdul Fattah al-Sisi as the “president of Mexico.”.
When asked about the current developments in the Israel-Gaza conflict, he stated, “I think, as you know, initially, the president of Mexico, Sisi, did not want to open up the gate to allow humanitarian material to get in.”
Mr. Hur questioned the 81-year-old president for five hours as part of the investigation.
The special counsel, a Republican appointed by Biden attorney general Merrick Garland, stated that Mr. Biden could not recollect when he was vice president (2009–2017) or “even within several years, when his son Beau died” (2015).
At Thursday night’s press conference, an angry Mr. Biden lashed out at paragraphs that put doubt on his memory of events.
“Frankly, when I was asked the question, I thought to myself, was none of their damn business,” he went on to say.
“I don’t need anyone to remind me when he [Beau Biden] passed away.”
When interrogated by the special counsel on October 8–9 last year, he stated that he was “very occupied… in the middle of handling an international”crisis”—precisely as the Israel-Gaza conflict started.
The investigation also found that Mr. Biden shared certain sensitive information from handwritten notes with a ghostwriter for his memoir, something the president disputed on the stage.
The special counsel determined that convicting the president of unlawful file management would be difficult because “at trial, Mr. Biden would likely present himself to a jury, as he did during our interview with him, as a sympathetic, well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory.”.
Opinion surveys show that the president’s age is a source of concern for US voters ahead of the November presidential election. However, Mr. Biden told reporters on Thursday that he was the most qualified candidate.
“I am well-meaning,” he explained. “And I am elderly. I know what the heck I’m doing. I brought this country back to its feet.
“I don’t need his recommendation.”
When asked if he accepted responsibility for keeping secret materials in his residence, Mr. Biden blamed his staff.
He said he had no idea they had hidden critical papers in his garage, which the special counsel claims was near a dog bed.
A BBC correspondent in the White House’s Diplomatic Reception Room characterized the atmosphere as strained.
When a journalist mentioned that the American people were concerned about his age, Biden responded, “That is your judgement, that is your judgement.”
He asserted that his memory is “fine” and “has not gotten worse” throughout his presidency.
Mr. Biden’s legal team also chastised the special counsel’s comments concerning Mr. Biden’s apparent memory problems.
“The report uses highly prejudicial language to describe a commonplace occurrence among witnesses: a lack of recall of years-old events,” stated White House lawyer Richard Sauber in a letter attached to the report.
The top secret files were discovered in Mr. Biden’s home in Wilmington, Delaware, as well as his old private office from 2022 to 2023.
The revelation comes after a separate inquiry accused former President Donald Trump, 77, of mishandling secret information after leaving the White House. He will face a trial in that matter in May.
According to the Hur article, Mr. Biden turned over the materials to federal archivists, although Mr. Trump “allegedly did the opposite.”.
“According to the indictment, he not only refused to return the documents for many months, but he also obstructed justice by enlisting others to destroy evidence and then to lie about it,” according to the article.
Mr Trump responded by stating that the Justice Department prosecutor should cancel his confidential files trial.
“If Special Counsel Jack Smith wants to do good for our country and help unify it, he should drop all litigation against Joe Biden’s political opponent, ME, and allow our country to heal,” the Republican White House frontrunner said on his platform, Truth Social.
