Biden campaign channels Jill Biden’s frustration over special counsel report

Washington CNN —

The renewed questions surrounding President Joe Biden’s age and memory sparked by a special counsel report last week were decidedly unwelcome for the 81-year-old Democrat’s advisers.

Yet in one area, the president’s team has found a way of making political hay from one of the president’s deepest political vulnerabilities.

A fundraising appeal sent Saturday from first lady Dr. Jill Biden criticizing the special counsel and defending her husband was the second-most lucrative money-raising email since the president’s launch announcement, a source familiar with the figures said.

The source declined to offer an exact amount raised, but what made the email unique is that the first lady made no explicit ask for supporters to give money to the campaign in the body of her message. Instead, the message included a button with a link to donate after the first lady signed off, “Love, Jill.”

The success of the fundraising message, in which Jill Biden argued special counsel Robert Hur’s report contains “inaccurate and personal political attacks against Joe,” speaks to a silver lining amid the questions about Biden’s age, which had been festering well before the release of Hur’s report last week.

In many ways, the lengthy document forced Biden’s team to more forcefully address an issue that had been lingering uncomfortably for months, as voters expressed deep concerns about the president’s ability to serve a second term.

For months, White House aides have sought to avoid moments that might highlight Biden’s advanced years, like using a smaller flight of stairs to board Air Force One. The president has also conducted few sit-down interviews and held fewer news conferences, though he frequently answers