Special counsel’s probe into Joe Biden ‘sharply critical’

Lengthy report will criticise the US President and is set to be released as soon as this week.

Aides to Joe Biden have been concerned that new revelations about his handling of classified material could embarrass him as he seeks re-election. Picture: AFP

Special Counsel Robert Hur has finished his probe into President Joe Biden’s handling of classified material and has written a sharply critical report, sources say.

The report is expected to be shared with congress and made public in the coming days, the sources said.

A spokesman for Mr Hur declined to comment, as did a spokeswoman for Mr Biden’s personal lawyer.

Mr Hur was appointed in January last year to examine why sensitive documents ended up at Mr Biden’s home and former office, after aides found such material there.

He isn’t expected to recommend criminal charges but the lengthy report will include new details about how the documents were stored.

Aides to Mr Biden have worried that the new revelations could embarrass him as he campaigns for re-election against Donald Trump, the likely Republican nominee who himself faces felony charges related to classified material he kept at his Florida estate.

The documents in question date to Mr Biden’s time as vice-president during the Obama administration as well as his days in the Senate.

Their discovery came last year as another special counsel was examining similar issues involving Mr Trump, and as several other former senior officials came forward to say they too had found such material in their possession after government service.

The Wall Street Journal