Garland Appoints Special Counsel to Oversee Biden Documents Investigation

On Jan. 12, Attorney General Merrick Garland announced that he had issued an order to appoint Robert Hur to oversee an investigation into classified documents allegedly found at President Biden's office at the Penn Biden Center for Diplomacy and Global Engagement as well as at the president's home in Wilmington, Delaware.

Robert Hur is currently a partner in the Washington, D.C. office of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, and previously served as United States Attorney for the District of Maryland from 2018 to 2021.

After Garland’s announcement of his appointment as special counsel, Hur issued a statement in which he affirmed that he “will conduct the assigned investigation with fair, impartial, and dispassionate judgment."

You can watch Garland's announcement, read Hur's statement, and read the Justice Department's press release announcing the appointment, repsectively, below:

Announcement:

Hur's statement:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Thursday, January 12, 2023

Statement of Special Counsel Robert K. Hur

Following his appointment by Attorney General Merrick B. Garland today, Special Counsel Robert K. Hur made the following statement:

“I will conduct the assigned investigation with fair, impartial, and dispassionate judgment. I intend to follow the facts swiftly and thoroughly, without fear or favor, and will honor the trust placed in me to perform this service.”

Justice Department press release:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Thursday, January 12, 2023

Appointment of a Special Counsel

Attorney General Merrick B. Garland announced today the appointment of a former career Justice Department prosecutor and former U.S. Attorney for the District of Maryland Robert K. Hur to serve as special counsel to conduct the investigation of matters that were the subject of the initial investigation by U.S. Attorney John R. Lausch Jr. related to the possible unauthorized removal and retention of classified documents or other records discovered at the Penn Biden Center for Diplomacy and Global Engagement and the Wilmington, Delaware, private residence of President Joseph R. Biden Jr.

“Based on Mr. Lausch's initial investigation, I concluded that, under the Special Counsel regulations, it was in the public interest to appoint a Special Counsel. In the days since, while Mr. Lausch continued the investigation, the Department identified Mr. Hur for appointment as Special Counsel.

“This appointment underscores for the public the Department's commitment to both independence and accountability in particularly sensitive matters, and to making decisions indisputably guided only by the facts and the law. 

I am confident that Mr. Hur will carry out his responsibility in an even-handed and urgent manner, and in accordance with the highest traditions of this Department.”