Jake Tapper says Adam Schiff Hur’s report on Biden’s memory ‘turned out to be pretty accurate’
CNN anchor Jake Tapper reminded Sen. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., of how he was “relentlessly tough on special counsel Robert Hur” and his report on President Biden despite being “fairly accurate”.
During Thursday’s segment, Tapper mentioned Schiff’s questioning of President-elect Donald Trump’s attorney general nominated by Pam Bondiespecially after she asserted that most Americans no longer trust the Department of Justice.
Schiff blamed Republicans for “dismantling” the DOJ, but Tapper noted that he and other Democrats have also attacked the Justice Department in the past.
CNN’s Jake Tapper spoke with Sen. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., about the recent Senate hearings. (CNN screenshot)
“President Biden gave a pretty harsh assessment of the investigation into his son Hunter,” Tapper began. “He basically threw the Justice Department under the bus over those investigations. And Democrats, including you, were relentlessly harsh on Special Counsel Robert Hur for an observation that turned out to be quite accurate, about how Joe Biden might appear to a jury as a ‘ a benevolent, elderly man with a weak memory.'”
“I was critical of it for good reason,” Schiff asserted. “And that is to not put such unnecessary personal observations in the prosecutor’s memo. Simply not. And that’s done for political reasons. So it’s not, you know, everybody, including the special counsel, necessarily follows [Department of Justice] politics as I believe it should be. And when they don’t, I call it out. And as I am, I disagreed with the president’s comments about prosecuting his own son.”
Schiff went on to blame Republicans for a “year-long campaign” to paint the Justice Department as “deep state.” Tapper briefly explained the context of Hur’s comments before moving on to another topic.
Special prosecutor Robert Hur described President Biden as a “compassionate, well-intentioned, elderly man with a failing memory.” (Brynn Anderson-Pool/Getty Images)
“I think Robert Hur would say he has to explain why he didn’t want to prosecute President Biden for what he thought was a violation of the law,” Tapper said.
Although Hur found that Biden intentionally withheld classified materials in violation of the law, he ultimately wrote in his February report that he would not recommend that he be charged on the basis of his impaired mental capacity.
“Mr. Biden would likely present himself to the jury, as he did during our interview with him, as a likable, well-intentioned, elderly man with a failing memory,” Hur wrote.
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Schiff fiercely attacked Hur about this report when questioned during a House hearing in March.
Schiff attacked Hur for the language in his report during a hearing in March. (Getty Images)
“I want to go back to your opening statement where you said you didn’t disparage the president, your report, but of course you did disparage the president,” Schiff said at the time. “You disparaged him in terms that you must have known would have maximum political effect. You did realize that your report would be public, didn’t you?”
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He continued: “What you wrote was deeply damaging to the president’s interests, you say it wasn’t political, and yet you had to understand. You have to understand the impact of your words. You have to understand the impact of your decision to go beyond the specifics of a particular document, to go very generally , to your personal prejudice, subjective opinion about the president, which you knew would be reinforced by his political opponent, when you knew it would affect the political campaign, you had to understand, and you did it anyway.”
