House Hearings
It’s been a while since I spent a day watching Congressional hearings. I remember the “bad old days”. FBI Director James Comey excoriated by both sides over the Hillary Clinton decision. Michael Cohen giving us the “inside scoop with receipts” on the workings of the Trump Administration. But all of that seems somehow like ancient history now; almost “quaint” stories of a time when things seemed simpler, and definitely more hopeful.
Comey ended the investigation of then-candidate Clinton for using a private email server. He determined that her actions did not rise to the level of a crime. But, instead of just declining to charge, Comey gave a national press conference where he emphasized Clinton’s careless behavior. He then re-opened the investigation of Clinton, just ten days before the election. His actions, while likely unintentional, were the proximate cause of the election of Donald Trump to the Presidency in 2016.
Hur’s Conclusions
Yesterday the newly resigned Special Counsel for the Department of Justice, Robert Hur, testified to the House Judiciary Committee. Like Comey, Prosecutor Hur also tried to have it both ways. He declined to prosecute President Biden for violating national security laws and mishandling classified documents. That should have been the “headline”. But, as outlined in the report Hur issued, one of his reasons for declination that he didn’t “feel” that a jury would convict Biden, because the President came across as a “…likeable but forgetful old man”. Hur argued a jury would decide that Biden couldn’t form the intent to commit the crime. In essence, Biden was too old to think it through.
Biden sat for five hours (over two days) of voluntary deposition with Hur and his staff, in the midst of the crisis after the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7th. It was from those hours that Hur drew his conclusions. But a reading of the transcript (released yesterday) showed that while Biden did get some dates and details wrong, he also showed clear recall of a lot of other facts and events. The “charge” against Hur is that he “cherry picked” incidents of forgetfulness, while himself forgetting other instances where Biden demonstrated a clear memory and understanding.
Hur declined charges. But like Comey, he denied Biden his “day in court” where he might be found guilty, or might be exonerated. Instead, Hur found the sitting President, without trial, “guilty” of senility. Much like Comey’s ill-fated press conference, the Hur Report essentially condemned Biden, without giving him an opportunity to give his side of the story.
Ignorant or Intent
There are two ways to look at what Hur did. The first is to say that, like Comey, Hur was simply “calling it as he sees it”. Hur argues that he was required to give his reasons for declining charges, and his evaluation of Biden’s mental state was one of the important ones. In essence, Hur provided Biden with a defense that the President certainly would never choose on his own. It might keep him from conviction, but its stigma might prevent his re-election as President.
Or, Hur, a life-long Republican, clerk for Republican Chief Justice Rehnquist, and protégé of Trump Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein; might be acting as a partisan. He definitely gave ammunition to the pro-Trump forces, perhaps in hopes of becoming the Attorney General in a second Trump Administration.
Confirmation Bias
There is a big difference between the impact Comey had in 2016 and what effect the Hur report will have today. In 2016 the Nation wasn’t sure about Donald Trump, but had very definite opinions about Hillary Clinton (even before “Hillary’s email”). In 2024, the Biden versus Trump sides are virtually cemented in place. There is little room for persuasion; the partisans of either side ignore information that doesn’t fit their pre-conceived model.
In short, MAGA supporters, of course, agree that Biden is senile. They’ve been saying it for years, and Hur’s determination simply confirms their decision. On the other hand, Biden supporters have heard the same talk about Biden for years, and deny it each time. This will be just one more moment when they can ignore information that fails to fit their preconceived notion.
Biden supporters just see if as another “shot” by a Republican operative, just like the Supreme Court decisions in favor of Trump look like another Republican scheme. In the end, both sides look for confirmation of their pre-conceived ideas, and ignore the rest.
In other news, last night’s primary election results confirmed what we all knew: it’s Biden versus Trump, part “deux”; buckle-up.
