Biden 'willfully' disclosed classified materials, but no criminal charges warranted: Special Counsel

President Joe Biden "willfully" retained and disclosed highly classified materials as a private citizen, but no criminal charges are warranted.

President Joe Biden “willfully” retained and disclosed highly classified materials when he was a private citizen, including documents about military and foreign policy in Afghanistan and other sensitive national security matters, according to a Justice Department report that nonetheless says no criminal charges are warranted for him or anyone else.

The report from Special Counsel Robert Hur, released on Feb. 8, represents a harshly critical assessment of Mr. Biden’s handling of sensitive government materials, but also details the reasons why he should not be charged with the crime.

The findings will likely blunt his ability to forcefully condemn Donald Trump, Mr. Biden’s likely opponent in November’s presidential election, over a criminal indictment charging the former president with illegally hoarding classified records at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida.

“Our investigation uncovered evidence that President Biden willfully retained and disclosed classified materials after his vice presidency when he was a private citizen,” Mr. Hur wrote.

It came after a yearlong investigation into the improper retention of classified documents by Mr. Biden, from his time as a senator and as vice president, that were found at his Delaware home, as well as at a private office that he used in between his service in the Obama administration and becoming president.

The investigation into Mr. Biden is separate from Special Counsel Jack Smith’s inquiry into the handling of classified documents by Mr. Trump after Mr. Trump left the White House. Mr. Smith’s team has charged Mr. Trump with illegally retaining top secret records at Mar-a-Lago home and then obstructing government efforts to get them back. Mr. Trump has said he did nothing wrong.

After Mr. Biden’s lawyers uncovered classified documents at his former office, Mr. Biden’s representatives promptly contacted the National Archives to arrange their return to the government. The National Archives notified the FBI, which opened an investigation. Mr. Biden made his homes available to agents to conduct thorough searches, and that is how the most sensitive documents came to the attention of the Justice Department.