DOJ defends Special Counsel report on Biden's memory: 'Consistent with legal requirement,' not 'gratuitous'

The Justice Department defended Special Counsel Robert Hur's report on President Biden saying it was "consistent with legal requirements and Department policy" after the White House sent a pointed letter to the agency.

In the letter, obtained by Fox News, Associate Deputy Attorney General Bradley Weinsheimer defended the Hur report and its release to the public as being "consistent" with the DOJ's policy, and its legal requirements.

"Having carefully considered your arguments, the Department concludes that the report as submitted to the Attorney General, and its release, are consistent with legal requirements and Department policy," the letter, which was sent to White House Counsel Ed Siskel and Personal Counsel to Joe Biden Bob Bauer, said.

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U.S. President Joe Biden exits the White House on his way to Marine One on the South Lawn July 6, 2023 in Washington, DC. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

Weinsheimer noted that the fall-out surrounding the release of Hur's report on the president's memory was not "gratuitous" or "unduly prejudicial."

"The identified language is neither gratuitous nor unduly prejudicial because it is not offered to criticize or demean the President," the letter noted. "Rather, it is offered to explain Special Counsel Hur's conclusions about the President's state of mind in possessing and retaining classified information."

Special Counsel Robert Hurs report calling out President Bidens "poor memory" sparked newfound media coverage of the leaders mental capacity in office.  (Reuters / Getty)

The associate deputy attorney general also pushed back against the White House's claims that the report "inappropriately commented" on Biden's conduct with classified documents.

"Your claim that Special Counsel Hur inappropriately commented on uncharged conduct is misplaced," Weinsheimer wrote. "As an initial matter, as described above, rather than commenting on uncharged conduct, Special Counsel Hur was applying the evidence he gathered to the applicable law."

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"Special Counsel Hur's report provides significant detail on the basis of his declination decisions. This includes factors that support his determination o f whether the President knew he possessed classified information and whether he acted willfully in possessing and retaining it," he said.

"The language to which you object goes directly to these issues," Weinsheimer said.

This image from Special Council Robert Hur’s investigation released by the Department of Justice on Thursday, February 8, 2024 shows Joe Biden inside the front office and executive assistant’s desk in December 2016. (U.S. Department of Justice)

Since Hur's report, which was released last Thursday, the White House has pushed back against the findings that characterized Biden as an "elderly man with a poor memory." 

Biden has also been vocal about the report's findings, lashing out that he "did not remember, even within several years, when his son Beau died."

"How the h--- dare he raise that,' Biden yelled during a press conference on Tuesday. 'Frankly, when I was asked the question, I thought to myself, it wasn't any of their d--- business."

This image from Special Council Robert Hur’s investigation released by the Department of Justice on Thursday, February 8, 2024 shows Joe Biden with a page of handwritten notes while eating breakfast alongside senators on January 29, 2015. (U.S. Department of Justice)

Two sources later revealed to Fox News that it was Biden who brought up his son's 2015 death-not Hur.

"We conclude that no criminal charges are warranted in this matter," the report, released Thursday, states. "We would reach the same conclusion even if the Department of Justice policy did not foreclose criminal charges against a sitting president."

The White House and the Department of Justice did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital's request for comment.

Fox News' David Spunt and Jake Gibson contributed to this report.

Sarah Rumpf-Whitten is a breaking news writer for Fox News Digital and Fox Business. 

She is a native of Massachusetts and is based in Orlando, Florida.

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