Biden report hearing highlights sharp partisan divide

Five weeks after his report into Joe Biden's handling of classified documents exploded a political bombshell, former special counsel Robert Hur appeared at a hearing in Congress to explain and defend his work.

Although Mr Hur declined to pursue a criminal case against Mr Biden or any of his associates, his report became a political lightning rod for how it depicted the president of the US.

It characterised him as a "well-meaning elderly man with a poor memory". It also cited instances of Mr Biden being unable to recall some details, which prompted an angry response from the president who insisted his memory was fine.

Not surprisingly, his memory and mental acuity featured prominently at the hearing, which was a clear demonstration of the sharp partisan divide over the report.

Here are some key takeaways.

The hearings began with duelling videos. Republicans played Mr Biden's impromptu press conference responding to the Hur report, during which he at times appeared angry and flustered and confused the leaders of Egypt and Mexico.

Democrats countered with an unflattering montage of clips of Donald Trump, Mr Biden's likely Republican opponent in November, in which the former president garbled words and admitted lapses of memory.

It was an early indication of the Democratic strategy to counter Republican accusations that Mr Biden is senile by claiming Mr Trump is just as bad - if not worse.

Republicans also quickly accused the Justice Department of having a two-tiered standard for prosecution, claiming that Mr Biden avoided charges while special counsel Jack Smith indicted Mr Trump for his handling of classified documents found at his Mar-a-Lago club.

"Justice for thee, but not for me," said New Jersey Republican Jeff Van Drew.

"Trump is worse" is a familiar page out of the Biden presidential campaign's playbook, but on Tuesday both sides had opportunities to launch campaign-style salvos at each other.

With the president's team trying to paint their candidate as substantially more ethical than Mr Trump, a fight to a draw here may have helped the Trump side level the playing field on what could have been a damaging topic.

Hours before Mr Hur began his testimony, the Justice Department released a transcript of the president's interview with the special counsel's team.

In his report, the special counsel offered several examples of what he described as Mr Biden's memory lapses. Some, such as the president's inability to remember when his vice-presidential term ended, are fairly clear. Others, such as the exact date of his son Beau's death are a bit more complicated.

The president recalled the exact day and date of his son's death but the year - 2015 - was quickly provided by an aide. On multiple occasions, in fact, the president's aides would chime in with information if Mr Biden appeared to be hesitating.

Whether these instances should have been more generally described as signs of a failing memory prompted one of the more heated exchanges of the hearing, as Democrat Adam Schiff of California pressed the special counsel on whether he knew the "political firestorm" his conclusions would create.

"You were not born yesterday, you understood exactly what you were doing," he said. "It was a political choice. It was the wrong choice."

Mr Hur countered that he was required to include his reasoning in his report to the attorney general and that he refused to "shape, sanitise or omit portions of my reasoning for political reasons".

Committee Republicans repeatedly turned to the president's communications with Mark Zwonitzer, a ghostwriter who worked on Mr Biden's two memoirs.

Mr Zwonitzer tried to delete audio recordings of his conversations with Mr Biden for those books after learning Mr Hur had been appointed special counsel. That prompted Florida Congressman Matt Gaetz to wonder why the ghostwriter wasn't charged with obstruction of justice.

"What does somebody have to do to get charged with obstruction of justice by you," Mr Gaetz, a Republican, asked. "If deleting the evidence of crimes doesn't count, what would meet the standard?"

Mr Hur said the audio files were less important because the ghostwriter kept transcripts.

Jim Jordan, the Judiciary Committee's Republican chairman, suggested Mr Biden, who received an $8m advance on one of his memoirs, had a financial motivation for saving classified documents - so he could share them with his ghostwriter.

"Joe Biden had 8 million reasons to break the rules," he said.

Mr Hur began his testimony, as many witnesses under the national spotlight do, by recounting his personal story. He's a child of Korean immigrants who came to the US to seek a better life.

"I'm privileged to have served our country for the majority of my career," he noted, before launching into a full-throated defence of his report and its conclusions.

Over the next three hours, the former special counsel was hit from both sides of the political divide. He largely remained composed under the spotlight.

When Democrat Hank Johnson of Georgia accused him of trying to help Mr Trump get elected so he could be appointed to a federal judgeship, Mr Hur showed a rare flash of anger.

"I have no such aspirations," he said. "Partisan politics had no place whatsoever in my work."

With his testimony completed and his investigation closed, Mr Hur may be able to step out of the spotlight for as long as he desires.

Congressional Republicans aren't done with their investigations, however. They are still seeking access to video recordings of Mr Hur's interviews, which could spark another round of embarrassing or politically damaging revelations for the president and his staff.