Attorney General Merrick Garland, under intense pressure from Republicans, has appointed a special counsel to investigate Joe Biden’s handling of documents found at the president’s home and former office.
Garland named Robert Hur, appointed by Donald Trump, who served as the United States Attorney for the District of Maryland from 2018 to 2021. He was in private practice in Washington when Garland tapped him to helm the investigation.
“I strongly believe that the normal processes of this department can handle all investigations with integrity. But under the regulations, the extraordinary circumstances here require the appointment of a special counsel for this matter,” Garland said. “This appointment underscores for the public the department’s commitment to independence and accountability, and particularly sensitive matters and to making decisions indisputably guided only by the facts and the law.”
He said that Hur will receive “all the resources he needs to conduct his work.”
The appointment is a major moment for Biden and marks a unique moment in American history with special counsels investigating the current president and his immediate predecessor at the same time. The special counsel investigation, along with the aggressive new Republican-led House of Representatives, means Biden may be on the defensive for the next two years.
The appointment comes hours after the White House counsel’s office said in a statement that Biden’s aides located documents with classified markings at two locations inside his home in Wilmington, Delaware. The documents were located in a storage area in Biden’s garage and an adjacent room, the statement reads. Biden frequently spends weekends at the home, located in a wealthy, wooded enclave on a lake.
Biden claims the documents were in a locked garage at his home. “It’s not like they’re sitting out on the street,” he insisted. Donald Trump will no doubt have a lot to say about that.
Related: HUGE: Classified Documents Found in Joe Biden’s Garage in Delaware
Garland really had no choice. With one set of documents in one location, he may have been able to get away with just having an independent review of the docs from a U.S. attorney.
But with two different locations and an unknown number of classified documents, Garland’s hand was forced.
Garland will try to insulate himself and his office from this case. The question that should worry Biden is how far afield Mr. Hur will be able to roam in his investigations. Robert Mueller, the special counsel named for Russiagate, went outside the bounds of his original mandate.
Will Garland let Hur off the leash?
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