Snippets from a 2023 interview that led Justice Department special counsel Robert Hur to describe former President Joe Biden as a “elderly man with a poor memory” were obtained and published by Axios on Friday, revealing Biden’s halting tone and difficulty remembering dates.
CBS News confirmed that the audio matches the transcript of the interview released by the Biden White House in 2024.
In one four-minute clip, Hur’s team, which was investigating Biden’s handling of classified records, inquired about where he kept his documents shortly after leaving office as vice president. Biden’s response is punctuated by long pauses, and his voice sounds hoarse at times. His speech is particularly halting as he describes the events surrounding his son Beau’s death.
In the audio obtained by news outlet Axios, Biden can also be heard struggling to recall when Beau died or when President Trump was first elected. Members of his staff can be heard correcting him and reminding him of the date.
A written transcript of the five-hour interview was released last year, but excerpts from the audio released Friday shed light on Biden’s demeanor and memory issues at various points during the interview.
In response to the audio, Biden spokesperson Kelly Scully told CBS News that the transcripts were released by the Biden administration more than a year ago. “The audio only confirms what is already public.”
Biden’s verbal delivery was an important aspect of Hur’s report. The special counsel stated in February 2024 that Biden sounded like a “sympathetic, well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory.” Hur believes jurors may share this viewpoint, making it difficult to convict Biden of knowingly keeping sensitive documents at home and in his office. Hur’s report noted “significant limitations” in Biden’s memory, including his inability to recall when his son died.
Hur advised against charging Biden with a crime, but concluded that he “willfully” retained government documents.
At the time, Biden and his allies were outraged by Hur’s report, particularly the “elderly man with a poor memory” line and the remark about Beau Biden’s death.
“There’s even a reference to my son’s death, which I don’t recall. How the hell does he raise that? “Frankly, when I was asked the question, I thought it was none of their damn business,” Biden stated last year. “I don’t need anyone to tell me when he passed away.”
Bob Bauer, Biden’s personal attorney, described the report as a “shabby piece of work” full of “totally inappropriate and pejorative comments.” The Biden White House counsel’s office requested that Hur’s team revise the report, describing references to Biden’s memory as “inflammatory.”
The report was released as questions arose about then-80-year-old Biden’s age and fitness to run for another term, despite the fact that Democratic officials publicly supported Biden and chastised Hur. Republicans, meanwhile, cited the report as evidence of Biden’s declining cognitive abilities and demanded that audio of the interview be released.
But months later, Biden’s rocky June debate with Mr. Trump, in which he repeatedly struggled to finish his sentences, reignited concerns about his age, prompting Biden to withdraw from the presidential race under pressure from his party.
Biden’s decisions during that time have come under renewed scrutiny in recent weeks, as books revealing details about his campaign hit the shelves. Some of the books detail Biden’s struggles with age, his aides’ efforts to keep him in the race, and the abrupt transition from Biden to eventual nominee Kamala Harris weeks after the Trump-Biden debate.
Biden has flatly denied any lapses in his cognitive ability, telling “The View” last week that “there’s nothing to sustain that.”