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Snippets from a 2023 interrogation that led Justice Department peculiar counsel Robert Hur to picture erstwhile President Joe Biden arsenic an "elderly antheral with a mediocre memory" were obtained and published by Axios Friday, showing Biden's halting code of dependable and trouble remembering dates.
CBS News has confirmed the audio matches the transcript of the interrogation released by the Biden White House successful 2024.
In 1 four-minute clip, Biden was asked by Hur's squad — which was investigating Biden's handling of classified records — astir wherever helium kept his documents soon aft leaving bureau arsenic vice president. Biden's effect is marked by agelong pauses, and his dependable appears hoarse astatine times. His code is particularly halting arsenic helium describes the play astir his lad Beau's death.
In the audio obtained by quality outlet Axios, Biden tin besides beryllium heard struggling to retrieve the twelvemonth erstwhile Beau died oregon the twelvemonth erstwhile President Trump was archetypal elected. Members of his unit tin beryllium heard correcting him oregon reminding him of the date.
A written transcript of the five-hour interview was released past year, but portions of the audio released Friday provide discourse connected Biden's demeanor and representation problems astatine definite points successful the session.
In effect to the audio, Biden spokesperson Kelly Scully told CBS News successful a statement, "The transcripts were released by the Biden medication much than a twelvemonth ago. The audio does thing but corroborate what is already public."
Biden's verbal transportation was a cardinal portion of Hur's report. The peculiar counsel wrote successful February 2024 that Biden sounded similar a "sympathetic, well-meaning, aged antheral with a mediocre memory." Hur said it's a presumption jurors whitethorn share, making it hard to convict Biden of knowingly holding delicate documents astatine his location and office. Hur's study noted "significant limitations" to Biden's memory, including his trouble remembering erstwhile his lad died.
Hur recommended against charging Biden with a crime, though helium did reason that Biden "willfully" retained authorities documents.
At the time, Biden and his allies reacted furiously to Hur's study — particularly the "elderly antheral with a mediocre memory" enactment and the remark astir Beau Biden's death.
"There's adjacent a notation that I don't retrieve erstwhile my lad died. How successful the hellhole situation helium rise that? Frankly, erstwhile I was asked the question, I thought to myself it wasn't immoderate of their damn business," Biden said past year. "I don't request anyone to archer maine erstwhile helium passed away."
Biden's idiosyncratic lawyer Bob Bauer called the report a "shabby portion of work" filled with "totally inappropriate and pejorative comments." The Biden White House counsel's bureau asked Hur's squad to revise the report, calling its references to Biden's representation "inflammatory."
The study was released arsenic concerns swirled astir then-80-year-old Biden's property and fittingness to tally for different term, though astatine the time, Democratic officials publically backed Biden and slammed Hur. Republicans, meanwhile, cited the study arsenic grounds of Biden's fading cognitive abilities and pushed for audio of the interrogation to beryllium released.
But months later, Biden's rocky June statement against Mr. Trump — successful which helium repeatedly struggled to implicit his sentences — reignited worries astir his age, starring to Biden's withdrawal from the statesmanlike contention amid unit from his party.
Biden's decisions during that play person drawn caller scrutiny successful caller weeks, arsenic books that offer glimpses wrong his run deed the shelves. Some of the books describe Biden's struggles with age, his aides' maneuvers to support him successful the contention and the abrupt displacement from Biden to eventual nominee Kamala Harris weeks aft the Trump-Biden debate.
Biden has strongly denied immoderate lapses successful his cognitive ability, telling "The View" past week, "there's thing to prolong that."
Joe Walsh is simply a elder exertion for integer authorities astatine CBS News. Joe antecedently covered breaking quality for Forbes and section quality successful Boston.
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