White House wrote Garland objecting to Hur report before publication, documents show

Prior to special counsel Robert Hur's report going public last week, the White House wrote to Attorney General Merrick Garland objecting to the comments on President Joe Biden's memory.

Hur's report did not recommend charges against Biden over his handling of classified materials, but did note that the president appeared forgetful during his interview and had trouble recalling basic details about his life. 

Prior to the report's release, the White House was permitted to review a draft and both White House Counsel Ed Siskel and Biden personal attorney Bob Bauer objected to the report's contents. In a letter to Garland obtained by Politico, Siskel wrote that Hur "openly, obviously, and blatantly" violated Department of Justice policies by including such comments.

Hur wrote in his report that he had "uncovered evidence that President Biden willfully retained and disclosed classified materials after his vice presidency when he was a private citizen" but ultimately opted against charges. He attributed the decision, in part, to concerns that "Mr. Biden would likely present himself to a jury, as he did during our interview of him, as a sympathetic, well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory."

The DOJ defended the report to both the following day. Replying to Siskel and Bauer, Associate Deputy Attorney General Bradley Weinsheimer stated that the "Department concludes that the report as submitted to the Attorney General, and its release, are consistent with legal requirements and Department policy."

"The report will be provided to Congress and released publicly, consistent with Department practice and the Attorney General's commitment to transparency," Weinsheimer continued.

Ben Whedon is an editor and reporter for Just the News. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter.