Forgetfulness, Jokes and Overclassification: 5 Takeaways From Biden’s Interview With Special Counsel Robert Hur

Special Counsel Robert Hur testified before the House Judiciary Committee on Tuesday about his decision not to prosecute President Joe Biden for improperly retaining some classified documents between his vice presidency and presidency, as well as Hur’s description of Biden’s “significantly limited memory” in the February report announcing the decision not to prosecute.

Ahead of the hearing, the Justice Department released the transcripts of Hur and his team’s interviews of Biden on Oct. 8 and Oct. 9.

There are no new revelations in the transcripts about what Biden did or did not do with classified documents, but the proceedings do shed some light on how the president viewed his actions and why Hur decided that his forgetfulness was worth mentioning.

Here are five takeaways from the Hur’s interviews of Biden:

Biden Brought Up Beau’s Death And Got The Year Wrong

In Hur’s Feb. 8 report, he cited as an example of Biden’s fading memory the president’s inability to remember the correct year that his son Beau died.

But at an indignant press conference hours after the report came out, Biden claimed that Hur had brought up Beau.

“How in the hell dare he raise that,” Biden said . “Frankly, when I was asked the question, I thought to myself it wasn’t any of their damn business.”

During the press conference, Biden did not address whether he’d gotten the date wrong when speaking with Hur, instead arguing that it had no bearing on whether he remembered his son had died.

“Every Memorial Day, we hold a service remembering him, attended by friends and family and the people who loved him,” he said. “I don’t need anyone to remind me when he passed away or if he passed away.”

But the transcripts of his interviews with Hur reveal