Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-CA) tried to lay out a case against former President Donald Trump during a Tuesday hearing in Congress but failed when the witness, Special Counsel Robert Hur did not dignify him with the response he sought.
During Hur’s testimony before the House Judiciary Committee on his investigation into President Joe Biden’s mishandling of classified documents and his report on the case, Swalwell somehow brought Trump into the discussion and asked Hur to condemn him.
Swalwell approached his point by starting with Hur’s personal story, saying he had been “moved” by Hur’s parents’ “immigrant story,” and adding that Trump “would end” immigration if he gets elected president again. He, however, failed to recognize that Hur’s parents moved into the United States legally, a very different issue from the one Trump and Republicans are trying to “end.”
Swalwell went on to try to push Hur to disavow Trump in order for his report to be deemed credible.
“Since you were appointed, he was impeached for leveraging 350 U.S. — $350 million U.S. taxpayer dollars over Ukraine to get dirt on President Biden. He was then impeached a second time for inciting an insurrection. He was charged for possessing classified documents and obstructing justice. He was charged for paying for the silence of a porn star. He was charged in Georgia for his role in January 6th. He was charged in the District of Columbia for his role in January 6th. He owes $400 million to the state of New York for defrauding the state through his taxes,” he stated.
Turning to Hur, he added, “You want to be perceived as credible, so I want to first see if you will pledge to not accept an appointment from Trump if he is elected again as president.”
Hur tried to push back, saying, “Congressman, I am not here to testify about what will happen —” but the lawmaker interrupted him.
“Seems like an easy answer. Considering I just laid out —” he stated.
“I’m here to talk about this report and the work that went into it,” Hur responded.
In another attempt, Swalwell stated, “You don’t want to be associated with that guy again, do you?”
Insisting that Swalwell was leading him away from his original purpose for testifying, Hur stated, “Congressman, I am not here to offer any opinions to what may or may not happen in the future. I am here to talk about the work that went into the report, which I stand by.”
During his testimony, Hur revealed that Biden and the White House tried to interfere in his investigation by requesting a revision on his report about Biden’s poor memory.
Special counsel Robert Hur confirms White House asked him to ‘revise’ descriptions of Biden memory lapses https://t.co/0KXbdS4D0C pic.twitter.com/swH1EZHiZ9
— New York Post (@nypost) March 12, 2024
“They did request certain edits and changes to the draft report,” he said, referring to multiple letters White House counsel Richard Sauber and Biden’s personal lawyer Bob Bauer wrote to Attorney General Merrick Garland and Associate Deputy Attorney General Bradey Weinsheimer, who were supervising Hur’s report.
