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CNN host suggests Robert Hur 'undersold' extent of Biden memory lapses during special counsel interview
CNN host Abby Phillip suggested on Friday that former Special Counsel Robert Hur "undersold" the extent of former President Biden's decline after his interview with the former president in the February 2023 classified documents probe. The CNN host argued that Hur threw the former president and the Democratic Party "a lifeline.""In a way, Robert Hur kind of undersold this," Phillip said. "He kind of threw Joe Biden a lifeline. It was an opportunity, actually, for Democrats to take it seriously, maybe change gears at that point, maybe give a potential nominee more time."The audio, obtained by Axios, contains clips from several interviews between the former president and Hur related to an investigation into his handling of classified documents when he was vice president.The transcript of Bidens interview with Hur was released last year, and confirmed the presidents frequent memory lapses. Hur's written report described Biden as a "sympathetic, well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory."HUR TRANSCRIPT CONFIRMS BIDEN MEMORY LAPSES, CONTRADICTS PRESIDENT'S CLAIM ABOUT EXCHANGE OVER SON'S DEATHJoe Borelli, a former Republican leader on the New York City Council, argued that no one was surprised by the Hur-Biden audio."I would count the number at zero. The number is zero, of people that heard the Hur tape and were surprised. And this is why theres so much distrust in media. Because youre right, maybe in 2020 it wasnt obvious, but 2022, 2023, right, now, everyone saw this person first with the notes of who to ask questions, with the questions pre-handed out, pre-answered, right. Then there was the guy who couldnt get up the stairs, he couldnt get up a single flight of stairs without falling. He fell off his bike. He would struggle for every answer," Borelli said."We all saw that, and most of us were able to identify the fact that the White House, and allies in media, were lying night after night after night, and then suddenly the script flipped. Joe Biden was cast aside, and suddenly now we could talk about that as though we all should have known, or we all should saw it. We all made mistakes that maybe we should apologize for. But it was clear as day to anybody," Borelli continued.Pete Seat, former spokesperson for President George W. Bush, highlighted a specific portion of the audio when Biden admits that he held onto documents related to Afghanistan for "posterity." Biden first said he didnt recall why he had the document when asked about it by Hur, who told him it was found in the library of his lake house."I dont know that I knew," that he had the document, Biden answered, "but it wasnt something I would have stopped to think about."AXIOS REPORTER PUSHES BACK ON BIDEN'S DENIAL OF MENTAL DECLINE, SAYING WHITE HOUSE INSIDERS DISAGREEBiden then said, "I guess I wanted to hang on to it for posteritys sake. I mean, this was my position on Afghanistan. Ive been of the view from a historical standpoint that there are certain points in history, world history, where fundamental things change using technology.""So he was admitting what the White House was telling us was just inadvertent, that all these documents were in boxes in his garage in Delaware, inadvertently. Heres the president admitting that he knowingly kept the document. But then his attorney interjects, Bob Bauer. And hes like, no, no, no, no, no, he doesnt remember. We cant speculate. So, in private, they were leaning into his forgetfulness. They were trying to use that to protect him from a criminal charge. Yet, to the public, they were telling us, Oh, hes sharp, and hes lucid, and he can recite the periodic table by memory,'" Seat said.Ahmed Baba, journalist and columnist for the Independent, pushed back on the notion that it was a media cover-up and argued that the media covered it "pretty ferociously as they could from the outside."CLICK HERE FOR MORE COVERAGE OF MEDIA AND CULTURE"I dont think it was necessarily a media failure because I think they covered it ferociously. I just think now, as we have this context in hindsight, the real key thing was he shouldnt have run for reelection," he said.Maria Cardona, a CNN political commentator, added, "I think at the end of the day, the accountability falls with Joe Biden and, frankly, probably with Jill Biden, too."CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP"Yeah, thats true. But it also falls on the Democratic Party, which ostracized people who said anything about Joe Biden," Phillip added. "Including attacking the media for even raising the issue of his age, when clearly it was an issue. I mean, theres accountability there, too."
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