After President Joe Biden publicly criticized special counsel Robert Hur for questioning him on his late son’s death, two people familiar with the interview told NBC News that it was Biden who brought up the topic, not the special counsel.
Following Hur’s investigation into Biden’s handling of classified documents, the special counsel released a report noting that during their interview, the president appeared to forget when his vice presidency began and ended and did not remember the date his late son Beau Biden had died. In a press conference the night the report was released, Biden criticized Hur for raising such a question, adding that he thought the topic wasn’t “any of their damn business.” Despite the president’s comments, Hur reportedly wasn’t the one to raise the question of Beau’s death. Rather, it was the president himself, two people familiar with the interview told NBC News. (RELATED: Special Counsel Calls Biden ‘Well-Meaning Elderly Man With A Poor Memory’)
“How in the hell dare he raise that?” Biden told reporters in the unexpected press conference. “Frankly, when I was asked the question, I thought to myself, it wasn’t any of their damn business.”
The president brought up the topic of his son’s death when discussing the time a ghostwriter helped him write a memoir detailing his experience of losing Beau to brain cancer in 2015, the sources told NBC News. The ghostwriter was helping Biden between 2016 and 2018.
While trying to remember the timeline of events in his life, the president seemed confused about when his son had passed, the sources told NBC News. Biden was able to correctly identify the day and month Beau passed, but was reportedly unable to nail down the year.
Sources familiar with Biden’s interview with Hur told NBC News the special counsel asked personal questions seemingly related to Beau, which induced the president to bring his son up. NBC News says that the sources did not dispute that Biden was the one to bring up Beau’s death first.
U.S. President Joe Biden departs after delivering remarks in the Diplomatic Reception Room of the White House on February 8, 2024 in Washington, DC. Biden addressed the Special Counsel’s report on his handling of classified material, and the status of the war in Gaza. (Photo by Nathan Howard/Getty Images)
After the special counsel report was released, which concluded that Biden would face no charges, the White House criticized Hur for including notes about the president’s declining memory, calling them “flatly wrong,” “inappropriate and “gratuitous.” (RELATED: Biden World’s ‘MAGA Guy’ Attack On Robert Hur Just Doesn’t Add Up, Records Show)
Despite the White House’s criticism of Hur and claims his description of Biden’s memory was inaccurate, the White House has not indicated whether they would release the transcripts of the president’s interview with Hur.
“There are discussions underway — because it’s a classified document — about what could or whether will be or when released,” Bob Bauer, Biden’s personal attorney, said in a CBS News interview.