CNN legal analyst Elie Honig said that President Biden contradicted Special Counsel Robert Hur's report on his possession of classified documents.
The president gave a hastily organized speech and press conference from the White House Thursday night during which he took questions from reporters regarding Hur's report on Biden's handling of classified documents.
Those records included classified documents about military and foreign policy in Afghanistan, among other records related to national security and foreign policy which Hur said implicated "sensitive intelligence sources and methods."
In a statement after Hur released the report, Biden said he was "pleased to see they reached the firm conclusion that no charges should be brought against me in this case."
Biden also said that the report found that "the evidence suggests that Mr. Biden did not willfully retain these documents." But Hur said his investigation "uncovered evidence that President Biden willfully retained and disclosed classified materials after his vice presidency when he was a private citizen."
Honig said Thursday he was surprised by Biden's statement about the special counsel's report.
"That’s what blew my mind about Joe Biden’s statement," Honig said. "Two major things he just outright contradicts or is contradicted by, however you look at this, this report. Two things he said are completely the opposite of what Robert Hur found."
"Who you believe is, I guess, up to the individual consumer," he added.
"First, Joe Biden says ‘I did not act willfully.’ That means voluntarily, intentionally," Honig said. "The second sentence of the summary says, ‘President Biden willfully retained classified materials.’ The facts in here show it was willful. He knew. He talked about it."
Honig also pointed out that while Biden claimed that he did not disclose documents to his ghostwriter, the special counsel's report indicated otherwise.
"Mr. Biden shared information, including some classified information from those notebooks with his ghostwriter," Honig said, quoting from the report.
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"Joe Biden is correct that Trump's conduct was worse," Honig said. "But his conduct was still very close to the line."
Honig summarized the report, saying that Biden "retained sensitive, classified documents after he left the presidency."
"It related to our international affairs, to war plans, to foreign relations. He knew it. He knew it! He’s on tape after he’s out of the vice presidency, saying to his autobiographer [that] the classified documents are in the basement," he said.
"He knew it!" Honig repeated.
The special counsel's report also described Biden as "a sympathetic, well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory," in statements that have started a firestorm in the press.
Fox News' Lindsay Kornick contributed to this report.
