Ex-Special Counsel Robert Hur agreed that he identified evidence that "pride and money" were "strong" motivating factors for President Biden to retain classified records, as the former vice president sought to keep materials to use for a memoir he wrote that brought him $8 million.
House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan questioned Hur during a public hearing Tuesday and asked him "why did Joe Biden, in your words, willfully retain and disclose classified material?"
"He knew the law. Been in office like 50 years, five decades in the United States Senate; chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee; eight years as vice president; he got briefed every day as vice president; he’s been in the Situation Room," Jordan said. "In fact you know he knew the rules because you said so on page 226."
Jordan referred to Hur’s report, in which he stated that Biden "was deeply familiar with the measures taken to safeguard classified documents."
When pressed on why Biden broke those rules, Hur replied that his "conclusion as to exactly why the president did what he did is not one that we explicitly address in the report."
But Jordan pushed back.
"I think he did tell us," Jordan said. "I think you told us, Mr. Hur. Page 231. You said this: ‘President Biden had strong motivations,’ that’s a key word. We’re getting to motive now. ‘President Biden had strong motivations to ignore the proper procedures for safeguarding the classified information in his notebooks.’"
"Why did he have strong motivations? Because, next word, because he decided months before leaving office to write a book," Jordan said. "That was his motive. He knew the rules. He broke them because he was writing a book."
Jordan reminded that Hur explained that Biden "began meeting with the ghostwriter" for that book while he was still vice president.
"There’s the motive," Jordan said. "How much did President Biden get paid for his book."
Hur noted that the figure is stated in the report, and replied: "It may be $8 million, if that’s accurate."
"$8 million. Joe Biden had 8 million reasons to break the rules, took classified information, and shared it with the guy who was writing the book," Jordan said. "He knew the rules, but he broke them big for $8 million in a book advance."
Jordan, quoting Hur’s report, said Biden "viewed his notebooks as an irreplaceable, contemporaneous record of the most important moments of his vice presidency."
"He’d written this all down for the book, for the $8 million," Jordan said, further quoting Hur’s report which stated: "Such record would buttress his legacy as a world leader."
Jordan said that the breaking of the rules "wasn’t just the money."
"It was also his ego," Jordan said. "Pride and money is why he knowingly violated the rules — the oldest motives in the book — pride and money."
Jordan added: "You agree with that, Mr. Hur? You wrote it in your report."
Hur replied: "That language does appear in the report. And we did identify evidence supporting those assessments."
Hur's report said that Biden risked "serious damage" to America's national security when he shared the classified information with the ghostwriter of his book.
Hur testified that ghostwriter, Mark Zwonitzer, had audio recordings of his conversations with Biden, in which the then-vice president read information from classified records.
BIDEN FUZZY ON DATES, FUMBLED DETAILS IN INTERVIEWS WITH SPECIAL COUNSEL HUR
With those recordings, though, Hur testified that Zwonitzer "slid those files into his recycle bin on his computer" upon learning that a special counsel had been appointed to investigate the matter.
Jordan asked if the ghostwriter tried to "destroy the evidence."
"Correct," Hur testified.
"The very guy who was helping Joe Biden get the $8 million, $8 million Joe Biden used — the motive for Joe Biden to to disclose classified information to retain classified information, which he definitely knew was against the law, When you get named special counsel, what's that guy do? He destroys the evidence," Jordan said. "That's the key take away in my mind. That's the key takeaway."
