'Not necessarily a full exoneration': CNN expert says Hur report hasn't let Biden off hook

Special counsel Robert Hur, who investigated President Joe Biden’s mishandling of classified documents and angered Democrats when he included claims about Biden's age and poor memory in his report, is testifying before the Republican-led House Judiciary Committee Tuesday.

In his prepared remarks, Hur is expected to say his "report reflects my best effort to explain why I declined to recommend charging President Biden for his mishandling of classified records."

"My assessment in the report about the relevance of the President’s memory was necessary and accurate and fair," Hur wrote in a copy of the remarks obtained by Fox News. "Most importantly, what I wrote is what I believe the evidence shows, and what I expect jurors would perceive and believe. I did not sanitize my explanation. Nor did I disparage the President unfairly. I explained to the Attorney General my decision and the reasons for it. That’s what I was required to do."

Speaking on CNN this Tuesday, legal analyst Elie Honig gave a breakdown of what he sees are the most important details of Hur's report, saying that first and foremost Hur found that there should be no criminal charges leveled against Biden.

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Nevertheless, he uncovered evidence that Biden "willfully retained and disclosed" classified information after his vice presidency.

"You may be wondering, 'Well, how could there be no charges but uncovered evidence?' And the answer is, there's a lot of room between 'charges must be brought' and 'no evidence whatsoever.' And what Robert Hur seems to be trying to say is there was evidence — some evidence, but not enough to charge [Biden] with a crime. That's an important distinction," Honig said.

Honig then addressed the most contentious aspect of Hur's report, which are his comments about Biden's memory where he characterized him as a "sympathetic, well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory." According to Hur, the description was relevant to the conclusion of his report.

Later in the segment, Honig stressed that the lack of criminal charges in Hur's report is "not necessarily a full exoneration."

"You will hear comparisons to the Trump case. Robert Hur says in his piece that Trump's conduct was worse than Biden's," Honig said.

Watch the video below or at this link.

Elie Honig on CNN 3/12 www.youtube.com