President Joe Biden was interviewed as part of the investigation into his handling of classified documents being led by special counsel Robert Hur, the White House said.
A person familiar with the matter said Hur personally led the interview.
In a statement Monday night, White House spokesman Ian Sams said the voluntary interview was conducted over two days, Sunday and Monday.
“As we have said from the beginning, the President and the White House are cooperating with this investigation, and as it has been appropriate, we have provided relevant updates publicly, being as transparent as we can consistent with protecting and preserving the integrity of the investigation,” Sams said.
A person familiar with the matter said the interview was scheduled several weeks ago.
When asked about his plans to sit for an interview in the investigation as he was visiting Lake Tahoe in August, Biden told reporters, “There’s no such request and no such interest.”
A spokesperson for Biden’s personal attorney, Bob Bauer, declined to comment. Hur’s office also declined to comment.
The interview raises the possibility that the special counsel’s investigation may be nearing its end, nearly nine months after Attorney General Merrick Garland appointed Hur to oversee a probe into Biden’s handling of classified documents.
The White House said in January that documents with classified markings were uncovered at Biden’s Delaware home and at a Washington office he used after he was vice president.
Hur was the U.S. attorney for Maryland during the Trump administration.
NBC News has reported that Biden and Hur had been in negotiations over the terms of an interview, including details about the interview’s timing and location, as well as the scope of the questions, two people familiar with the matter said in August.
Biden’s classified documents case has unfolded as his predecessor, former President Donald Trump, faces charges that he mishandled documents, including allegations that he told a property manager at his Mar-a-Lago residence in Florida to delete security video.
During his presidential campaign, Trump has sought to liken his handling of documents to Biden’s. Biden’s aides have pushed back against the comparison, saying Biden promptly returned classified documents to the government when they were discovered in his office and then voluntarily allowed federal authorities to search his properties for additional materials.
Zoë Richards
Zoë Richards is the evening politics reporter for NBC News.
Molly Roecker
Molly Roecker is a journalist for NBC News in New York.
Monica Alba
,
Peter Alexander
and
Ken Dilanian
contributed
.
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