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Former special counsel Robert Hur was applauded on Tuesday after saying that he's a Republican.
During a House Judiciary Committee hearing over President Joe Biden's handling of classified information, Georgia Democratic Representative Hank Johnson questioned Hur and asked if he was a member of the Federalist Society, a conservative organization.
Hur declined to say he was a member, but when asked if he was a Republican, he said, "I am a registered Republican."
Following his answer, some claps could be heard from the crowd within the hearing.
Johnson then pressed Hur, asking if he was working to get former President Donald Trump reelected in hopes of being appointed as a federal judge.
"Congressman, I have no such aspirations. I can assure you and I can tell you that partisan politics had no place whatsoever in my work, it had no place in the investigate steps that I took, it had no place in the decision that I made, and it had no place in a single word of my report," Hur said in response.
The context:
Hur appeared before the Republican-led House Judiciary Committee on Tuesday to deliver testimony regarding his investigation and interview with Biden about Obama-era classified documents found at his Delaware home and at the Penn Biden Center in Washington, D.C.
Hur issued a report in February determining that Biden "willfully retained and disclosed classified materials after his vice presidency." However, Hur said that the president would present himself to a jury as a "sympathetic, well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory" and did not seek charges against him.
What we know:
Trump was previously indicted federally by Special Counsel Jack Smith for his alleged mishandling of classified documents and attempts to obstruct an investigation. Trump has pleaded not guilty to the charges brought against him and many lawmakers attempted to make comparisons between Trump and Biden's case on Tuesday.
A spokesperson for the House Judiciary Committee directed Newsweek to a post on X, formerly Twitter, from the committee which said, "Democrats somehow think Robert Hur is a Republican operative because he DIDN'T indict Joe Biden (D-DE). Huh?"
Views:
During the hearing, Florida Republican Representative Matt Gaetz said he doesn't believe either Biden or Trump should be charged for their handling of classified documents.
Prior to the hearing, House Judiciary Committee chairman Jim Jordan said on Fox & Friends that he planned to ask about the "double standard" between Biden and Trump's cases.
"One thing we are gonna ask Special Counsel Hur is, and one thing we've done, is, we've said we want the audio tapes...We want all the information you had when you interviewed President Biden," Jordan said.
What's next:
Hur's testimony will continue throughout the day on Tuesday with lawmakers on both sides hitting him with questions.
Biden's mental acuity and memory are likely to remain a major talking point ahead of the 2024 election, which is shaping up to be a rematch of the 2020 race between Biden and Trump.
Update 3/12/24, 12:25 p.m. ET: This article was updated with additional information.
Update 3/12/24, 12:56 p.m. ET: This article was updated with additional information.
About the writer
Matthew Impelli is a Newsweek staff writer based in New York. His focus is reporting social issues and crime. In ... Read more