United States President Joe Biden has defended his memory after a special counsel report into his handling of classified documents renewed scrutiny of his fitness for office ahead of the presidential election in November.
The report described the 81-year-old Democrat’s memory as “hazy,” “fuzzy,” “faulty,” “poor” and having “significant limitations.” It noted that Biden could not recall defining milestones in his own life, such as when his son Beau died or when he served as vice president.
In emotional and at times angry remarks, Biden took aim at Special Counsel Robert Hur for finding that his memory was so “severely limited” when interviewed by prosecutors that he could not remember the year he began serving as vice president under President Barack Obama or the year his son Beau died.
“There’s even reference that I don’t remember when my son died,” Biden said during a press conference at the White House on Thursday. “How in the hell dare he raise that?”
“I don’t need anyone to remind me when he passed away,” Biden said of his son, who passed away from brain cancer in 2015.
Hur, a former federal prosecutor during the Trump administration, was appointed by Attorney General Merrick Garland to probe Biden’s handling of classified material after the discovery of sensitive documents at his private office in Washington, DC.
