“I know what the hell I’m doing,” he declared from the Diplomatic Reception Room at the White House.
He grew emotional recounting a line from the report that suggested he did not recall the year in which his son Beau died.
“There’s even reference that I don’t remember when my son died,” he said. “How in the hell he dare raise that.” Beau Biden died in 2015, when his father was vice president.
Capping a tumultuous afternoon, the White House scrambled to put together the address, notifying reporters just 20 minutes before it was to take place.
Biden even cited specific page numbers in the report of Special Counsel Robert Hur to bolster his case.
“I was pleased to see reached the firm conclusion that no charges should be brought against me in this case,” the president said. “This was exhaustive investigation.”
He also sought to focus on the separate investigation into former president Donald Trump’s own handling classified documents, and the differences between them.
“I was especially pleased to see special counsel make clear the stark distinction and difference between this case and Mr. Trump’s case,” he said.
