Matt Gaetz Doesn't Want Joe Biden Charged

Republican Representative Matt Gaetz of Florida said during testimony by Robert Hur, the special counsel who investigated Joe Biden's handling of classified documents, that the president shouldn't be charged.

"I don't think Biden should have been charged. I don't think Trump should be charged," Gaetz said during Tuesday's House Judiciary Committee hearing.

Context

In February, Hur released a 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.

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 as it included criticism of the 81-year-old president's memory as he said Biden could be seen as a "well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory" by a jury.

A transcript of Biden's interview with Hur that was released on Tuesday reveals new details regarding the interview. It comes a month after Biden fiercely attacked the special counsel for invoking his late son during the interview. Although it was unclear how Beau Biden came up in conversation, Hur cited an incident in his report in which the president did not remember when his son died of brain cancer.

However, the transcript contradicts Biden's account, revealing that Hur never asked Biden about Beau and that it was the president who brought up his son's death, according to the Associated Press.

What We Know

On Tuesday, Hur testified before lawmakers about the inquiry amid raised questions about the president's mental fitness as Hur defended his inclusion of the remarks.

During the hearing, Gaetz accused Hur of letting Biden slide for his handling of classified documents under what he calls the "senile cooperator theory."

Although Gaetz agreed that Biden shouldn't have been charged, he continued to get Hur to say that Biden lied about his handlings of the documents.

However, Hur said only that the president's statements were "inconsistent" with the evidence his team discovered.

Newsweek has reached out to Gaetz's office and the White House via email for comment.

Views

The release of the report has reignited concerns about Biden's age as he seeks a second term in the White House. Donald Trump, Biden's expected 2024 Republican opponent, jumped on Hur's report to attack Biden, who is 81.

Trump and other Republicans also suggested that Biden not facing prosecution was proof that the Department of Justice is "weaponized" against the former president, who has pleaded not guilty to 40 federal charges that he illegally retained sensitive materials when he left the White House in January 2021 and then obstructed the federal attempts to retrieve them.

During Tuesday's hearing, Gaetz reiterated that he doesn't think Trump, 77, should be charged.

White House spokesman Ian Sams said at a February 9 press briefing: "For the past few years, Republicans in Congress and elsewhere have been attacking prosecutors who aren't doing what Republicans want politically. They have made up claims of a two-tiered system of justice between Republicans and Democrats. They have denigrated the rule of law for political purposes.

What's Next?

Hur's testimony will continue throughout the day on Tuesday with lawmakers on both sides hitting him with numerous questions.

The House Judiciary Committee previously requested further audio recordings from Biden's interview with Hur, but neither the Department of Justice nor the White House has responded to the requests.

Update 3/12/24, 12:30 p.m. ET: This article has been updated with additional information and background.