President Biden will not request redactions in an investigative report by special counsel Robert Hur into how classified documents ended up at Mr. Biden’s house and residences, the White House said Thursday.
The lack of redactions will speed the release of the report, which is expected to be heavily critical of Mr. Biden but not recommend any criminal charges regarding the alleged mishandling of secret government documents.
“In keeping with his commitment to cooperation and transparency throughout this investigation, the president declined to assert privilege over any portion of the report,” said White House Counsel’s Office spokesman Ian Sams.
Mr. Sams said the White House notified the Justice Department earlier Thursday that it had completed its review.
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre declined to say whether Mr. Biden was briefed on the report, referring questions to the Justice Department.
The probe has generated heated accusations of a double standard because the Justice Department did file criminal charges against former President Donald Trump for keeping classified documents after he left office.
The White House review for potential executive privilege concerns was the final hurdle before the report would be released to Congress and the public.
Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a letter to Congress late Wednesday that he was committed to disclosing as much of the report as possible, once the White House review was finished.
Mr. Garland appointed Mr. Hur as special counsel in January 2023 after batches of documents were discovered at an office Mr. Biden kept in Washington after leaving the vice presidency, and at his Wilmington, Delaware, mansion.
The documents were found inside the offices of the Penn Biden Center think tank on Nov. 2, 2022, but only disclosed to the public in early January 2023. After a second stash of documents was found inside the garage of the president’s home, Mr. Garland appointed Mr. Hur to serve as special counsel.
The administration has downplayed the investigation. Mr. Biden has dismissed it as an investigation over “stray papers,” insisting the files were kept in a locked garage and that he is fully cooperating with Mr. Hur’s probe.
“By the way, my Corvette is in a locked garage, so it’s not like they’re sitting out on the street,” he told reporters last year.
Last October, Mr. Biden sat for a voluntary interview with Mr. Hur. The president’s son Hunter Biden was interviewed a month later. The investigation reportedly included more than 100 witnesses.
Biden campaign officials fear that report could be embarrassing and provide fodder for Mr. Trump’s campaign. Mr. Trump is expected to face off against Mr. Biden again in the November election.
In June, special counsel Jack Smith indicted the former president on 37 charges related to the improper storing of U.S. intelligence files, some of which were marked “Top Secret.”
The National Archives had repeatedly demanded the former president return the documents, which had been moved to Mr. Trump’s Mar-a-Lago residence after he left the White House in early 2021.
• Jeff Mordock can be reached at jmordock@washingtontimes.com.
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