5 reactions to DOJ not charging Biden for mishandling classified documents

By Ryan Foley, Christian Post Reporter Friday, February 09, 2024

U.S. President Joe Biden answers questions about Israel after speaking about the Special Counsel report in the Diplomatic Reception Room of the White House in Washington, D.C., on February 8, 2024, in a surprise last-minute addition to his schedule for the day. A long-awaited report cleared President Joe Biden of any wrongdoing in his mishandling of classified documents from his tenure in the Senate and as vice president on February 8, but dropped a political bombshell by painting the Democrat as a 'well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory.' — U.S. President Joe Biden answers questions about Israel after speaking about the Special Counsel report in the Diplomatic Reception Room of the White House in Washington, D.C., on February 8, 2024, in a surprise last-minute addition to his schedule for the day. A long-awaited report cleared President Joe Biden of any wrongdoing in his mishandling of classified documents from his tenure in the Senate and as vice president on February 8, but dropped a political bombshell by painting the Democrat as a "well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory." | MANDEL NGAN/AFP via Getty Images

Special Counsel Robert Hur, tapped by the United States Department of Justice to investigate allegations that President Joe Biden illegally possessed classified documents from his time in the Senate and as vice president, submitted a report on his findings to U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland Monday.

Specifically, the investigation examined the “Unauthorized Removal, Retention, and Disclosure of Classified Documents Discovered at Locations Including the [University of Pennsylvania] Biden Center and the Delaware Residence of President Joseph R. Biden, Jr.”

Hur decided that “no criminal charges are warranted in this matter,” while acknowledging that “Our investigation uncovered evidence that President Biden willfully retained and disclosed classified materials after his vice presidency when he was a private citizen.”

He added, “These materials included (1) marked classified documents about military and foreign policy in Afghanistan, and (2) notebooks containing Mr. Biden's handwritten entries about issues of national security and foreign policy implicating sensitive intelligence sources and methods.”

“We conclude that the evidence does not establish Mr. Biden’s guilt beyond a reasonable doubt,” he wrote. While the Special Counsel declined to press charges against Biden, the report raises multiple questions about the 81-year-old president’s mental health as he seeks re-election in the 2024 presidential election.

Here are five reactions to the special counsel’s decision and the report’s implications about the president’s mental acuity.