Special Counsel interviews Biden in the case involving secret materials
Special Counsel interviews: Image credit-World News
Interviews with the US president on Sunday and Monday may indicate that the inquiry is nearing its conclusion.
The White House said that Vice President Joe Biden participated in a voluntary interview as part of an examination into the handling of secret papers discovered at his residence and former private office.
According to Ian Sams, a spokesman for the White House counsel’s office, Special Counsel interviews Robert Hur questioning the 80-year-old president over the course of two days, which ended on Monday.
In order to investigate how the confidential files were handled during and immediately after Biden’s tenure serving as Vice President under President Barack Obama, the US attorney general designated a special counsel in January.
Special Counsel interviews: Image credit-REUTERS
These special counsels are selected to handle delicate matters, frequently involving political figures or accusations of significant wrongdoing by the government, and they are given more discretion than usual when deciding whether to file charges.
Hur’s interactions with Biden give rise to the possibility that the discreet probe has reached its conclusion. According to Biden, he expected the finding of secret materials to eventually be ruled irrelevant and expressed surprise at its discovery. According to ABC News, Hur’s team had already conducted in-depth interviews with Biden’s staff.
“As we have stated from the outset, the President and the White House are cooperating with this investigation,” Sams said in a statement. As appropriate, we have provided relevant updates publicly, being as transparent as we can consistent with protecting and preserving the integrity of the investigation.
Biden’s likely Republican opponent in the 2020 presidential race, former President Donald Trump, is being tried separately for allegedly mishandling confidential documents after leaving office.
According to Jack Smith, the special counsel in that case, Trump is accused of removing highly classified papers to his Florida resort Mar-A-Lago and refusing to give them back.