Per a new Politico report, sources close to President Biden say he is placing part of the blame for the fallout of the Robert Hur report on Justice Department Secretary Merrick Garland.
The White House is reportedly frustrated with Attorney General Merrick Garland, with sources telling Politico that Biden believes the official should’ve reined in Special Counsel Robert Hur before his report came out torching Biden’s mental acuity.
Politico reporters Jonathan Lemire and Sam Stein published a report Friday, which stated, "Joe Biden has told aides and outside advisers that Attorney General Merrick Garland did not do enough to rein in a special counsel report stating that the president had diminished mental faculties, according to two people close to the president."
NO CHARGES FOR BIDEN AFTER SPECIAL COUNSEL PROBE INTO IMPROPER HANDLING OF CLASSIFIED DOCUMENTS
The two reporters offered a candid snapshot of Biden’s displeasure with the report that – although it did clear him of wrongdoing in his own classified documents case – included a description of his "poor memory" that has his administration, Democratic Party figures, and pro-Biden voices in the media doing damage control.
"Biden and his closest advisers believe Hur went well beyond his purview and was gratuitous and misleading in his descriptions, according to those two people, who were granted anonymity to speak freely," the reporters stated, adding that the administration is putting "part of the blame" on Garland.
The DOJ secretary appointed Hur as the special counsel to investigate President Biden's handling of classified documents dating back to the Obama administration just over a year ago.
The case morphed from a mere review into a full-blown special counsel investigation once a second stash of documents was found inside the garage of Biden's Wilmington, Delaware, home. The first documents were found inside the Washington offices of the Penn Biden Center think tank.
At the time, Garland noted, "The special counsel will not be subject to the day-to-day supervision of any official of the department, but he must comply with the regulations, procedures and policies of the department."
As the Politico reporters added, Biden and his advisors say Garland "should have demanded edits to Hur’s report, including around the descriptions of Biden’s faltering memory."
ROBERT K. HUR, BIDEN SPECIAL COUNSEL, OVERSAW INDICTMENTS OF TOP BALTIMORE OFFICIALS
According to the two reporters, the administration is frustrated with Garland enough that "most of the president’s senior advisers do not believe that the attorney general would remain in his post for a possible second term."
One of the sources told the outlet, "This has been building for a while. No one is happy."
The journalists referenced other points of friction between Biden and Garland that have been growing, one being how long the special counsel investigation into Hunter Biden is going.
"Last year, Biden privately denounced how long the probe into his son was taking, telling aides and outside allies that he believed the stress could send Hunter Biden spiraling back into addiction," the sources told the reporters, adding that the president told confidants that "Garland should not have eventually empowered a special counsel to look into his son, believing that he again was caving to outside pressure."
Additionally, they said Biden has been annoyed that Garland has moved too slowly in his investigations into former President Trump.
The reporters wrote, "In recent weeks, President Biden has grumbled to aides and advisers that had Garland moved sooner in his investigation into former President Donald Trump’s election interference, a trial may already be underway or even have concluded, according to two people granted anonymity to discuss private matters."
Both the White House and the Department of Justice did not immediately reply to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
Fox News Digital's Anders Hagstrom contributed to this report.
