Joe Biden forgot when he was vice president and when his son Beau died, special counsel report says

Biden at the White House on February 8, 2024.

Mandel NGAN / AFP via Getty Images

Special Counsel Robert Hur just released his report on Biden’s handling of classified docs.He’s not recommending any charges, but his report said damning things about Biden’s memory.Biden forgot when he was VP and when his son Beau died, per the report.

Perhaps the biggest takeaway from Special Counsel Robert Hur’s report is that President Joe Biden is struggling with memory issues.

Hur’s report, while not recommending any criminal charges over Biden’s handling of classified documents, included seemingly grave warnings about the president’s mental acuity.

During a portion dealing with classified documents pertaining to Afghanistan, the report noted that the president “would likely present himself to a jury, as he did during our interview of him, as a sympathetic, well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory.”

“It would be difficult to convince a jury that they should convict him — by then a former president well into his eighties — of a serious felony that requires a mental state of willfulness,” the report added.

Furthermore, the report stated that during an interview with investigators, Biden could not recall the dates of his 2009-2017 vice presidency, or recall that his son Beau died in May 2015.

“When did I stop being Vice President?” said Biden at one point, according to the report. “In 2009, am I still Vice President?”

The relevant portion of Hur’s report.

Department of Justice

In a statement, White House counsel Richard Sauber disputed portions of the report.

“We disagree with a number of inaccurate and inappropriate comments in the Special Counsel’s report,” said Sauber. “Nonetheless, the most important decision the Special Counsel made—that no charges are warranted—is firmly based on the facts and evidence.”