White House Tried to Pressure Robert Hur to Hide Details of Joe Biden's Senility

In what was perhaps the biggest revelation of Robert Hur's testimony to Congress on Tuesday, the former special counsel confirmed that the White House pressured him to cover up Joe Biden's cognitive decline. That is in stark contrast to past claims made by the Biden administration that it remained apolitical and allowed the DOJ to investigate without any influence.

According to Hur, the White House "did request certain edits and changes to the draft report."

Testifying before the House Judiciary Committee, Hur answered in the affirmative when asked by Representatives Jim Jordan (R., Ohio) and Tom Tiffany (R., Wisc.) whether the White House had asked him to change portions of his report detailing Biden’s difficulties with memory loss before submitting the final report to Attorney General Merrick Garland, who then made it public.

“Did the White House try to weigh in with your investigation on elements of that report and frankly try to get that report changed?” Jordan asked. “They did request certain edits and changes to the draft report,” Hur answered.

When pressed by Rep. Tom Tiffany, Hur mentioned a letter that was sent by the White House asking that mentions of Biden's memory issues be removed.

The fact that Biden forgot what year his son Beau died has been a major point of contention since the release of Hur's report. At the time, the White House lambasted the special counsel, claiming that it was insensitive and improper for Beau Biden's death to be brought up.

The now-released transcript, which was discussed at the hearing, told a different story. Namely, that it was Biden who brought up his son's death in an attempt to deflect his culpability in illegally keeping and mishandling classified materials.

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Senate Dem Threatens Congressional Action to Block Weapons Shipments to Israel If Rafah Is Invaded

Some Senate Democrats are mulling different methods for pressuring Israel to abandon its planned invasion of Rafah as part of its effort to eliminate Hamas, including blocking arms sales to the country if they go ahead. The lawmakers cite humanitarian concerns as their reason for pressuring President Joe Biden to do more to rein in Israel.

Congressional action to block U.S. arms sales to Israel is “certainly something that’s on the table” if Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu launches a large-scale invasion of Rafah, a top senator said Tuesday.

The remarks by Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) come amid pressure from Democrats for President Joe Biden to take a tougher tack in his rift with Netanyahu over Israel’s strategy in Gaza. Netanyahu said in an interview published Sunday that he intends to press ahead with a Rafah invasion in defiance of Biden’s warning that such an offensive would be a “red line.”

Netanyahu has remained undeterred in the face of growing calls for Israel to abandon its effort to eradicate the Hamas threat in Gaza. Over the weekend he told an interviewer, regarding Rafah: "We’ll go there. We’re not going to leave them. You know, I have a red line. You know what the red line is? That October 7 doesn’t happen again. Never happens again."

Anti-Israel Democrats and the United Nations claim that humanitarian conditions in Gaza are quite dire, but Israeli defense officials dispute that characterization. Van Hollen is one of seven Senate Democrats who sent a letter to Biden on Monday claiming that military aid to Israel is in violation of the Foreign Assistance Act, which prohibits military support to any nation that impedes the delivery of humanitarian aid. Israel denies blocking the delivery of any humanitarian aid to Gaza.

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