Joe Biden Won't Face Criminal Charges in Mishandling of Classified Documents Despite Investigation

After 11 months of investigation, President Joe Biden is not expected to face any criminal charges regarding his mishandling of classified documents at two locations, sources told CNN. However, it is reported that special counsel Robert Hur will be highly critical of how Biden and his administration handled the sensitive materials. 

Former Maryland Attorney Hur and his team have made a detailed report after a year-long probe that included interviewing about 100 people from Biden's administration—his close allies, subordinates, and colleagues; the Democrat's son, Hunter Biden; and the president himself.

In June 2023, Biden's aides said the president was cooperating with the legal system regarding the case. Attorney General Merrick Garland appointed Hur as special counsel in January after the classified documents under Obama's administration were located with the 80-year-old reported, NBC News.

The documents in question date from the time when the now-president was in the Senate, serving as the vice president of Barack Obama. The sensitive papers were found at Penn Biden Center, a private think tank Biden once ran, and in the same garage where he keeps his Corvette at his Wilmington, Delaware home. 

After extracting the sensitive documents, Hur and his team compiled a detailed report expected to be completed by the end of the year, as told to the Justice Department officials. However, no criminal charges could be anticipated in this case against Biden, first reported by The Wall Street Journal. 

This step may likely draw harsh criticism from Biden's political rivals like Republicans, especially the former president Donald Trump, who has been undergoing his own classified documents case, which is expected to reach its end, resulting in severe charges. Apparently, the 77-year-old took the sensitive papers with him to his Mar-a-Lago home in Florida after leaving the White House. 

But the main difference between the two probes is that the National Archives tried but failed to get the documents in Trump's possession. Meanwhile, in Biden's case, his attorneys immediately informed him after finding the materials. Mike Pence is another U.S. politician, and "a small number of documents bearing classified markings" were located at his home north of Indianapolis. 

However, as part of Biden's classified documents case, Hur and his team (after interviewing Biden) also spoke to Secretary of State Antony Blinken, national security adviser Jake Sullivan, top Biden aide Steve Ricchetti, and Biden's former chief of staff Ron Klain.

After Biden's staff submitted the found documents, about two dozen more papers were discovered in his Delaware home. Following this, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre bore the public's brunt by saying the search had been over. More searches found more documents, giving the impression that the White House had been negligent.

However, the former president showed reluctance in handing over the documents, which prompted the legal system to release a search warrant. Since then, Trump has been indicted for trying to possess the sensitive materials and deleting the surveillance footage that revealed how the documents were handled.