Merrick Garland Under Fire From His Former Harvard Law Professor

U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland faced criticism from Laurence Tribe, his former Harvard Law professor, on Monday after Department of Justice (DOJ) special counsel Robert Hur's report into President Joe Biden's mishandling of classified documents was released.

Hur's report on the Obama-era classified documents found at Biden's Delaware home and at his Penn Biden Center office in Washington D.C. between November 2022 and January 2023 was released on Thursday. Hur declined to prosecute Biden for mishandling the classified documents, partly because he cooperated in the investigation and that the evidence "does not establish Mr. Biden's guilt beyond a reasonable doubt." However, his report raised questions about Biden's mental fitness and called him "a well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory."

Garland appointed Hur to lead the Biden investigation in January 2023. Hur also served as U.S. attorney for the District of Maryland until 2021, having been appointed to the position by former President Donald Trump in 2018.

Although Garland hired the special counsel in an effort to ensure a non-partisan investigation, some are now criticizing Hur for what they see as a political report on his findings and are blaming Garland for allowing parts of it to be released.

In a post on X, formerly Twitter, Tribe, professor emeritus of constitutional law at Harvard University, shared his thoughts on the matter by criticizing Garland for bending "too far backwards."

"I've long respected my friend and former student Merrick Garland but he has bent too far backwards in order to avoid seeming pro-Biden," he wrote.

Newsweek reached out to the DOJ via online form for comment.

This is not the first time Tribe criticized the report as he reposted a video on X on Sunday of former Judge J. Michael Luttig of the U.S. Court of Appeals who repeatedly called Hur's report "an abuse of power." In response to the video, Tribe wrote, "It was indeed. A gross abuse, and one the Attorney General should have intervened to correct."

Garland wrote in a letter to Congress on Thursday that he attached the final report and any other materials provided by Hur "without any further additions, redactions, or other modifications."

The attorney general added: "Releasing these materials in full to you and to the public is in the public interest and is consistent with legal restrictions and Department policy."

Tribe, meanwhile, is not the first to point out Garland's role in the report.

Sara Spector, a criminal defense attorney based in Texas, wrote on X, "Merrick Garland should have redacted Hur's personal opinions as to Biden's mental acuity from the report."

Robert Shrum, director of the USC Center for the Political Future, wrote: "I have refrained from all the criticism of Merrick Garland. I was wrong. And he was the wrong choice for DOJ. History will not absolve him."

Meanwhile, Biden's age and mental competence have already faced criticism during his reelection campaign, and the release of Hur's report seemed to heighten concerns about the president being fit enough for another term, especially among conservatives who support Trump, the frontrunner for the Republican nomination. Trump, however, has had his own mental competence questioned.

In a press conference, Biden himself hit back at the report and said, "I know what the hell I'm doing" and "my memory's fine."