Highlights from special counsel Robert Hur's appearance on Capitol Hill:
- Special counsel Robert Hur testified before the House Judiciary Committee about his investigation into President Joe Biden's handling of classified documents.
- Members of both parties grilled Hur over his decision not to charge Biden while characterizing him as "an elderly man with a poor memory."
- The White House has pushed back heavily against Hur's report. Democrats are also trying to contrast the classified documents probes into Biden and former President Donald Trump, who was charged.
- The hearing was led by Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, and the panel's top Democrat, Rep. Jerry Nadler of New York.
- The transcripts of Hur's five-hour interview with Biden are now public; they show memory lapses as well as detailed exchanges.
White House says 'it's time to move on' from Hur's report
White House spokesman Ian Sams said this afternoon that Biden's accuracy in remembering the timing of his son's death was proved with the release of today's transcript and that it's time to "move on" a month after Hur's report was released.
"I think the transcript makes plainly clear, and I think the American people understand this: The president remembers exactly when his son died. He carries that pain with him every day. He carries that emotional toll with him every day, and the transcript only makes that clear," Sams said.
Sams also emphasized that Hur hadn't uncovered evidence to prove that Biden willfully retained documents.
"The president is innocent, and that was the conclusion of this case," Sams said.
Asked whether Biden had watched any of Hur's hearing, Sams said he had been updated on the hearing and "saw a little bit of what went down."
"I think the president feels strongly that this case is over and it's time to move on for the business of the American people," Sams said.
White House still plans to launch a task force on protecting classified info
The White House reiterated its pledge to form a task force to ensure classified information is handled properly going forward after the hearing. Spokesperson Ian Sams said the Biden administration will endeavor to make sure sensitive material isn’t misplaced after presidents and vice presidents leave office.
It’s unclear who will be working on the effort, which will be rolled out in the coming months.
Hur chose to resign yesterday as previous special counsels have, lawyer says
Hur’s attorney, Bill Burck, said in a text message that the special counsel decided to resign yesterday before his testimony because he had "completed his work."
“As was the case with prior special counsel including Robert Mueller and John Durham, Mr. Hur thought it best that he testify before Congress as a private citizen rather than a DOJ official," Burck said.
Trump posts about Hur hearing
On Truth Social, Trump posted an exchange and video clip from the hearing in which Hur confirmed that Biden had classified documents at the Penn Biden Center, in his garage, in his basement and office and at the University of Delaware.
Trump is expected to attend a hearing in his own classified documents case in Florida on Thursday. His attorneys plan to argue that the indictment, in which the former president is charged with mishandling classified documents, should be thrown out.
White House won't say if Biden was watching Hur's hearing
At a briefing, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre was asked whether Biden was watching Hur's testimony today.
She replied, "I cannot speak to what the president is keeping track of or watching." Asked about his reaction to the testimony, she said, "I'm not going to speak to the president's reaction."
Hearing concludes shortly before 3 p.m. ET
The hearing has wrapped. Hur testified for over four hours (not including the break for votes — which made the hearing last about five hours total).
Hur said Biden interview recording led him to his decision not to recommend charges
There hasn’t been a ton of new information revealed in the Hur testimony today — much of it is just putting finer points or context into what the report already revealed. There is, however, one thing that was notable and could be important going forward.
Jordan pressed Hur about whether the Justice Department or the White House should release the audio recordings of the Biden interview. Hur refused to comment on whether they should, but he volunteered that the audio recording helped to inform his decision not to charge.
Hur wouldn’t say why, but his answer suggested that the way Biden answered his questions, beyond the actual words on paper, contributed to his decision-making process.
The committees have subpoenaed the audio recordings and are pushing to have them released. There are many reasons the White House and the Justice Department would want to be careful with the release, but Hur’s cryptic response means the pressure to get them out will continue.
Committee breaks for floor votes
Jordan said the committee will recess for a brief series of House votes and will reconvene for more questions 10 minutes after the last vote concludes.
A brief battle over access to audio recordings
Fun with unanimous consent requests: After Republicans tried to get Hur to commit to providing audio of his witness interviews, Nadler tried to get the GOP-led committee, which is helping lead the House's impeachment inquiry, to release audio of witness interviews it has conducted.
Committee will break soon
Jordan said three more members will ask questions now, then the committee will take a break for House floor votes, and then they'll have "a couple more" members ask questions afterward.