It’s a widely followed rule among lawyers to refrain from asking a question if you’re uncertain about the answer. The rationale behind this is to avoid inadvertently highlighting something that could potentially harm your case.
Representative Pramila Jayapal (D, WA), not being a lawyer, might not be familiar with this principle. Her attempt to discredit Robert Hur, Special Counsel, failed precisely due to this lack of understanding.
Jayapal attacked Hur by attributing statements to him that he had not made. It’s unclear whether she overlooked or misunderstood the facts, or if she was intentionally trying to mislead. Specifically, Jayapal claimed that the report resulted in Joe Biden’s “complete exoneration.” However, it’s generally unwise to confront the individual behind the report with what could be deemed as a falsehood. In response, Hur effectively rebutted Jayapal’s assertion for the cameras by stating, “We DID NOT exonerate him.”
SPECIAL COUNSEL HUR: We did NOT exonerate Biden pic.twitter.com/mLHW3rgdSe
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) March 12, 2024
She realized she had chosen the wrong word, and tried to speak fast and interrupt him in order for him not to be heard. But he was still heard: they did not exonerate Biden. It’s a classic Democratic tactic, but it failed to work with Hur.
Democrats claim that Biden has been “exonerated”, but he was not. Hur has said it outright, so this is just a spin. It’s not the same as saying that he did nothing because you won’t prosecute him.
Hur decided — for reasons with which I disagree — to not prosecute. This is not the exact same thing. On the first page of this report, it was stated that Biden had “willfully retained”, classified documents. The classified documents were all over the place, including in the garage near the Corvette. He still hasn’t explained why he had documents from his time in the Senate.
Jonathan Turley, a professor at George Washington University Law School, noted that Hur repeated this in his testimony.
Hur just confirmed again that President Biden “willfully retained” classified information. He notes that Biden referred to such material in a recorded message and actually read from some of the material to a third party…
— Jonathan Turley (@JonathanTurley) March 12, 2024
Hur noted that he had also read some of the alleged classified materials to a third-party.
Biden’s claim was directly in contradiction with this.
…That stands in direct contradiction of what President Biden claimed publicly before and after the interview. Hur is saying that he was deterred from bringing charges due to the higher standard of “beyond a reasonable doubt.” He had to consider the President’s “overall mental…
— Jonathan Turley (@JonathanTurley) March 12, 2024
By asking this question, Jayapal made it clear to the audience that the Democratic narrative is all bunk.
