Former Special Counsel Robert Hur stumbled to answer House Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan when he was questioned him about what motivated President Joe Biden to remove classified documents from the White House.
During Tuesday’s hearing, Jordan asked Hur why Biden chose to take documents with him when he left the vice presidency, to which Hur responded that the “why” wasn’t addressed by the report.
“I think you told us Mr. Hur,” Jordan said. “Page 231, you said this: ‘President Biden had strong motivations’—that’s a key word. We’re getting a motive now. ‘President Biden had strong motivations to ignore the proper procedures for safeguarding the classified information in his notebook.’ Why did he have strong motivations? ‘Because he decided months before leaving office to write a book.'”
Jordan then proceeded to ask Hur exactly how much Biden was being offered for that book, to which the special counsel first said, “Off the top of my head, I’m not sure if that information appears in the report.” Jordan then corrected him, saying there was actually dollar amount in his report.
When asked if he remembered what that figure was, Hur said, “it may be $8 million.”
Later on, Representative James Comer said Dana Remus was former White House counsel for President Joe Biden. Hur corrected Comer, saying she was White House counsel for former President Barack Obama, prompting an apology from Comer.
Remus did serve as Biden’s White House counsel. She also served during the Obama administration, but as a deputy assistant to the president and deputy counsel for ethics. She also served as general counsel of the personal office for the Obamas.
This is a developing story and will be updated as more information becomes available.
Chip Somodevilla/Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images
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