Do you swear or affirm under penalty of perjury
that the testimony you're about to give is true?
PERRY RUSSOM: Today, special counsel Robert Hur defending
his report on President Biden's handling
of classified documents from last month,
where Hur describes Biden as a sympathetic, well-meaning,
elderly man with a poor memory.
My assessment in the report about the relevance
of the President's memory was necessary
and accurate and fair.
PERRY RUSSOM: In Hur's report where he declined to prosecute
the President, he writes, "Biden did
not remember, even within several years,
when his son Beau died."
That drew a fiery denial from the President.
How in the hell dare he raise that.
Frankly, when I was asked the question, I thought to myself,
it wasn't any of their damn business.
PERRY RUSSOM: But in the newly released transcripts
from the President's interviews with Hur,
it shows it was Biden who first brought up
the death of his son, not Hur.
And the President did struggle to remember
the exact year his son died.
Last month, Hur's report drew instant backlash
from the White House.
And clearly politically motivated.
PERRY RUSSOM: Hur, who is a registered Republican,
is the former US Attorney in Maryland during the Trump
administration.
I'm here today to announce the appointment of Robert Hur
as a special counsel.
PERRY RUSSOM: He was appointed special counsel
by Merrick Garland, Attorney General under President Biden.
My task was to determine whether the President
retained or disclosed national defense information willfully.
I could not make that determination without assessing
the President's state of mind.
While Hur declined to prosecute President Biden,
former President Trump faces 40 criminal charges
from special counsel Jack Smith related to his handling
of classified documents.
Trump has denied any wrongdoing.
Perry Russom, ABC News, Washington.