Garland: 'Absurd' to think he should've censored special counsel report on Biden

[brooklynite]

Source: Politico

Attorney General Merrick Garland dismissed as “absurd” the idea that he should have edited or withheld a special counsel report slamming President Joe Biden’s memory.

In his first remarks responding to criticism of his decision to release special counsel Robert Hur’s report last month referring to Biden as an “elderly man with a poor memory,” Garland said Thursday that publishing the full report on Biden’s handling of classified information was consistent with the tradition of transparency for such reports.

“The idea that an attorney general would edit or redact or censor the special counsel’s explanation for why the special counsel reached the decision the special counsel did — that’s absurd,” Garland told reporters.

Hur concluded no criminal charges were warranted against Biden relating to mishandling of classified material he obtained before he became president.

Read more: https://www.politico.com/news/2024/03/21/garland-absurd-to-think-he-shouldve-censored-special-counsel-report-on-biden-00148300

[50 Shades Of Blue]

1. ESPECIALLY not a Trumper SC report!

[BeyondGeography]

2. Except Biden's supposed memory issues had nothing to do with the decision not to indict

Thanks for nothing, Merrick. Again.

[SheilaAnn]

3. My thought is that it's Garland who is absurd. Cannot wait until he's gone. n/t

[Paladin]

10. Couldn't agree with you more.

He's the wrong person, in the wrong position, at the wrong time.

[Cartoonist]

4. Barr had no problem editing Mueller's report.

How about investigating him?

[bucolic_frolic]

5. He learned nothing from Bill Barr

[NewHendoLib]

6. F. M. G.

That is all

[PortTack]

7. But as shown in mr. Hur's congressional testimony...he had a lot of things flat out wrong! Why would one

Not edit out what was a lie…come on!

He claimed president Biden could not remember the date of his son’s death…that was totally false…the president’s answer was in the fucking transcript. So your department mr garland rubber stamps lies?

[SunSeeker]

12. THIS. Requiring truth is not "censorship." nt

[Silent Type]

8. The most important matter Hur addressed is that trump's record handling was much worse than Biden.

[hlthe2b]

9. He should not have appointed Mr. Hur to begin with, but rather someone whose abilities and integrity

were unquestioned--including a demonstrated absence of political bias. And before anyone tells me that even MSNBC consultant attorney and Former DEA Head, Chuck Rosenberg believed he was exactly THAT and vouched for him, I'll preempt that BS by pointing out that he said the SAME when Bill Barr was appointed.

Two harms come from political bias driving decisions. One obviously comes from those who let those personal biases drive their decisions at the expense of justice. The second can be almost more detrimental--those that come from the fear of being accused of bias such that they make choices in direct opposition to their own beliefs to such a degree that once again the cause of justice is the loser.

In the end, the transcript tells the truth, but not before the lies encircled the world endless times. The damage was done.

[screamcheese]

11. If Garland doesn't do something to redeem himself pretty soon,

He should be replaced.

[BaronChocula]

14. And yet does Garland have anything to say

about how inappropriate Hur's editorializing was? Not that I've heard. As the AG, Garland set the jurisdiction of the investigation. Hur's memory comments did not fall within that jurisdiction. There was no legal relevance to what Hur thought of Biden's memory. And Garland has had nothing to say about that. In this case AG stands for Anemic Garland.

[Think. Again.]

15. What's absurd is garland accepting the report...

...which is full of contradictions and innuendos, as a legitimate professional report, in the first place.

Don't censor or edit a legitimate report, but also don't accept something that is not a legitimate report as though it is.
.

[whathehell]

16. He sounds arrogant.

I do hope that he's "relieved of his duties", after Joe Biden wins a second term..I'd love to see him go today, but I'm guessing that's not politically feasible.

[moniss]

17. It's absurd for Garland

to not address the clear contradictions between the transcript of the Biden interview and the false statements made in the summary and then think he has the right to expect that he be viewed as a man of integrity in his job. You have integrity when you call a spade a spade not when you equivocate and defend behind weasel words to deflect from having to speak the truth about false statements and false testimony to Congress.

[FailureToCommunicate]

18. Meanwhile Garland is too busy suing Apple for...what, doing what big companies always

do.

[SunSeeker]

20. I am glad he is enforcing anti-trust laws against Apple. It is needed.

That is not why we didn't get an honest, professional report out of Hur's investigation.

[FailureToCommunicate]

30. Of course. But, like many here, I'm suggesting Garland should be ALSO going after the...

TSF, the Big Kahuna.

[Martin68]

19. No one has suggested Grand should have censored the report. The report should not have included gratuitous

non-medical evaluations off Biden's memory in the first place. Garland should publicly recognize that fact if he is an honest broker.

[hadEnuf]

21. Garland is a politically motivated AG.

Evidenced by him allowing politics to be introduced where it shouldn't be in order to maintain the appearance that he isn't political.

[ripcord]

22. Of course he shouldn't have edited or killed the report

The last thing we need going into an election is the Republicans investigating to see if the President ordered his AG is destroy or edit and report critical of the President by his administration's own special counsel.

[TwilightZone]

24. Agreed.

The argument that Garland is wrong here is ludicrous.

If it had been withheld, the worst of it would have been leaked piecemeal by the GOP for months.

If it had been edited, it would have been much more politically problematic than just releasing the unedited report. Speculation would have been rampant.

I also find it curious that some of the same people who are still complaining about the Mueller report redactions years later insist that Garland should have edited or withheld this report.

[niyad]

23. So where is the unredacted mueller report?

[ificandream]

25. The transcript did more to hurt Hur's report than all the pundits and social media posts did.

Hur's report is a sunken weight now. Had Hur's report been edited or redacted, you know the full transcript would hve made its way out and the reaction (especially from Republicans) would have been over the top. I think things worked out well. The report has been discredited, which is exactly what we wanted.

[brush]

26. I will be glad when Garland is shown the door on the first day of Joe's second term.

He's been a poor AG who did not rise to the moment of the J6 insurrection.

The transcript of the biased Hur editorializing on his report shows Hur should never have been chosen by Garland as SC.

[lark]

28. Preach!

I have been saying this for awhile, so obviously totally agree. Garland is a failure and the USA is in danger right now because he refused to act in a timely manner. He listened to the pro-tsf pukes instead of doing his job.

[brush]

29. Absolutely.

[lark]

27. Garland is highly flawed!

He cowered and refused to prosecute tsf until the truth was shoved down his nose so hard he could not continue to refuse to do his jo and retain it. He is partisanly R, appoints R to investigate R and R to investigate D - gives R two years to respond and Biden 5 days. I am sick of him!