Robert Hur resigns ahead of House hearing with help from 'Trumpworld figures': report

Special counsel Robert Hur, who oversaw the investigation into President Joe Biden's retention of classified information, timed his resignation from the Justice Department with the help of Trump-aligned lawmakers ahead of his testimony to Congress, reported the Independent on Monday.

"According to multiple sources familiar with Mr Hur’s plans, the special counsel, who is appearing before the Judiciary Committee at the request of the Republican majority led by Ohio Representative Jim Jordan, has arranged his departure from the Department of Justice to be official as of Monday 11 March, one day before he is scheduled to appear on Capitol Hill," wrote Andrew Feinberg. "Instead of appearing as a DOJ employee who is bound by the ethical guidelines which govern the behaviour of federal prosecutors, he will appear as a private citizen with no constraints on his testimony."

“That makes it even more problematic from our perspective," said a source close to Democrats on the House Judiciary Committee. "If he was still a federal employee, DOJ would have to approve his testimony and they’d be involved in his appearance tomorrow.”

This comes as Hur, a U.S. attorney from the Trump administration, is under fire by political commentators and legal experts for the partisan nature of his final report, with some accusing him of gratuitously attacking Biden's character.

Hur did not recommend charges against the president, but claimed, among other things, that Biden suffered from severe memory problems while being questioned, and while he did not find sufficient evidence that the president intentionally retained classified information, he suggested that if he tried to make the case, Biden would be able to convince a jury that he is an "elderly man with a poor memory" incapable of doing such a thing.

The White House has strongly disputed Hur's characterization of the interview, calling the attacks on Biden's memory "gratuitous" and a mischaracterization of the interview.