Summary

  • Robert Hur, the lawyer who investigated Joe Biden's handling of classified files, is facing questions in Congress over his final report

  • He tells a House committee that his assessment of Biden's memory, which the report said had "significant limitations", was both accurate and fair

  • Hur's findings were published last month - he found Biden kept secret documents and stored them improperly but did not bring criminal charges

  • The report's sections on Biden's memory have been seized on by his critics, with Democrats and the White House accusing Hur of going beyond his remit. "My memory is fine," Biden said

  • Democratic lawmakers say Hur was biased and knowingly ignited a "political firestorm" - but Hur says "politics played no part whatsoever" in his report

  • You can watch the hearing live by pressing play at the top of this page

Live Reporting

Edited by Francesca Gillett and Emily McGarvey

  1. Biden could remember the day son Beau died but was prompted on year

    President Biden at a press conferenceGetty Images

    Biden says he was not involved with moving documents

    One of the most stinging criticisms of Biden's memory from the February report - in which he was labelled a "well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory" - was that he forgot the date of his son Beau's death in 2015.

    The report said: "He did not remember, even within several years, when his son Beau died."

    The transcript - which US media have seen - now gives more detail. CBS News says it shows that in the October interview, the then-80-year-old president could recall the month and day but not the year.

    He responded: "What month did Beau die? Oh god - May 30th."

    An unnamed White House lawyer in the room added: "2015."

    "Was it 2015 he had died?" the president asked.

    An unidentified person in the room replied: "It was May of 2015."

    Biden agreed: "It was 2015."

  2. Transcript of Biden's interview with Hur gives more detail of exchanges

    Until now, we've only had Hur's report - published in February - but this morning, US media have been able to see copies of a transcript of the five-hour interview Biden gave with Hur.

    Our US partner CBS News says the transcript was not given to them - they were able to read it for a few hours yesterday but had to give it back.

    The actual transcript hasn't been publicly released yet and there are currently no plans to do so.

    CBS News says the transcript shows a mix of professionalism, politeness and occasional humour.

    Hur commends Biden on his "significant cooperation" with investigators and tells Biden he recognises the task of asking the president to recall details from events that "happened years ago".

    Biden quips back: "I'm a young man, so it's not a problem."

  3. What the report specifically said about Biden’s memory

    Biden’s critics have used his age - 81-years-old - as a line of attack (EPA)EPA

    Biden’s critics have used his age - 81-years-old - as a line of attack

    The most headline-grabbing parts of Hur’s report were where it talked about Biden’s memory.

    The 81-year-old president‘s seniority was already a key line of attack from his critics - and the report’s phrase describing him as a "well meaning, elderly man with a poor memory" has taken off.

    The report found that the president's memory "appeared to have significant limitations" - and gave dozens of examples to question Biden's mental agility. Recorded conversations between Biden and the ghostwriter of his memoir, Mark Zwonitzer, are "often painfully slow” with Biden “struggling to remember events”, it said.

    It then referred to interviews that Biden gave for the report itself:

    In his interview with our office, Mr Biden's memory was worse. He did not remember when he was vice president, forgetting on the first day of the interview when his term ended… and forgetting on the second day of the interview when his term began."

  4. What was in the report?

    Joe Biden lambasted the claims about his memory in the Justice Department reportGetty Images

    Joe Biden has lambasted the claims about his memory

    The report followed a year-long investigation and was long - at 345 pages. Here were the key bits:

    Biden kept top secret documents: Biden “wilfully retained and disclosed classified materials” related to military and foreign policy in Afghanistan after serving as vice-president until 2017.

    Notebooks: The files included notebooks where Biden had written about national security and foreign policy - and implicated sensitive intelligence sources. Some of the sensitive material was shared with a ghostwriter for his memoir.

    No charges: But Hur declined to prosecute Biden, saying evidence “does not establish Mr Biden's guilt beyond a reasonable doubt”.

    Memory issues: Part of the reason not to bring charges was because Hur said Biden would come across as "a sympathetic, well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory". It said his memory "appeared to have significant limitations" and gave examples of times where he had struggled to remember key details.

    Read more here.

  5. A big day for Hur - and Biden

    Francesca Gillett
    Live reporter

    Hello and welcome to our live coverage from Washington DC, where we will today hear from Robert Hur - the lawyer who investigated President Joe Biden’s handling of classified documents.

    Hur was hired by the US Department of Justice to look into how several batches of classified documents ended up at Biden’s home in Delaware and in his think tank’s offices.

    Hur released his scathing report last month, which found Biden "wilfully retained and disclosed" classified files - although decided not to charge him.

    But perhaps most damaging were the serious questions the report raised about Biden’s memory. Questions about the president’s age have been simmering for months among his critics - and this report only supercharged them.

    Today is the first time the country will hear directly from Hur himself. Members of Congress are sure to pounce on his explosive findings - we’ll bring you all the key updates. More here.