Credibility crisis: Press dismissed Hur report on Biden's memory issues long before concerns became undeniable

The property spun, obfuscated and outright dismissed Special Counsel Robert Hur’s aboriginal 2024 study that stated then-President Joe Biden came disconnected arsenic an aged antheral with representation issues good earlier his declining authorities emerged arsenic an acceptable taxable successful the bequest media. 

Hur, who was appointed by then-Attorney General Merrick Garland to analyse Biden's handling of classified documents, famously concluded helium would not bring charges against the then-president, successful portion due to the fact that a assemblage would find him to beryllium a "sympathetic, well-meaning aged antheral with a mediocre memory." 

A caller publication detailing the erstwhile president's intelligence acuity concerns portion successful office, his prostate crab diagnosis and the recently-released audio recordings of Biden’s interrogation with Hur reinvigorated the conception that intelligence acuity concerns were valid. 

But erstwhile the Hur study was initially released successful February 2024, months anterior to Biden’s disastrous statesmanlike statement performance, it made his cognitive diminution intolerable for the property to ignore, and overmuch of the media rushed to Biden’s defense. 

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The property spun, obfuscated and outright dismissed Special Counsel Robert Hur’s aboriginal 2024 study that stated then-President Joe Biden came disconnected arsenic an aged antheral with representation issues. (Getty Images)

Hur acknowledged the documents were "willfully" obtained by Biden some arsenic vice president and arsenic a senator, but revealed Biden had a "hazy" representation of erstwhile helium was antecedently successful bureau and erstwhile his lad Beau died. 

Liberal pundits were often successful lockstep to importune the study featured "gratuitous" connection oregon was "editorialized," and Biden attacked reporters who dared to question if helium was acceptable for the occupation astatine a last-minute White House property league pursuing the merchandise of the damning report. 

Some reporters successful the country vexed Biden by asking astir his representation and concerns astir his age, but left-leaning pundits were successful damage-control mode. 

Jim Acosta, astatine the clip an anchor for CNN, wondered aloud if Hur’s appraisal was "out of bounds," portion CNN commentator Paul Begala peddled claims from Biden officials saying the president was "totally focused" and "very sharp."

Jeffrey Toobin appeared connected CNN to scold Hur for making "unnecessary points" astir Biden’s precocious age. 

"Part of that study was an outrage, it was a disgrace. I mean, the thought that they that helium would marque specified a large constituent of Biden being aged is not thing a authoritative needed to do," Toobin said. 

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Former President Biden's statement against Donald Trump successful 2024 opened the floodgates to criticisms implicit his intelligence acuity.  ((Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images) | (Photo by ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS/AFP via Getty Images) | Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images))

A sheet of MSNBC hosts defended Biden by attacking Hur for injecting "ageism" into his report. 

"Do you privation to get into the property thing? Let's telephone it what it is. This is ageism snuck into a study clearing the idiosyncratic of immoderate wrongdoing," MSNBC big Ari Melber told viewers during the network's primetime sum of the breaking news.

"If you privation to get the ageism, young radical are told each the clip by their lawyers, 'Hey, you're mode amended disconnected leaning into I don't callback than perchance misstating thing to a national serviceman oregon nether oath successful this case.' So it's a batch of derogatory stuff," Melber continued. "And I bash think, and I privation to beryllium clear, a recognition to the president that helium chose to bash accelerated cooperation. I deliberation that's bully for the system. Politically, though, it's present being utilized against him."

His MSNBC workfellow Chris Hayes insisted Hur was "frustrated and angry" that helium "didn't get more" from his probe into Biden, turning to however property is the "central communicative question present that this each revolves around." 

"Age is not thing you tin rebut," Hayes said. "The antheral is 80 years old… He is the property helium is, And truthful it's a precise utile governmental onslaught for them."

"He rides a bike!" host Rachel Maddow interjected. 

MSNBC big Katie Phang slammed the "inflammatory, unnecessary and partisan" connection utilized successful the report, portion web contributor Molly Jong-Fast suggested Hur wasn't a "good religion actor."

"He’s not a neurologist," Jong-Fast said. 

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Pod Save America co-host Dan Pfeiffer complained astatine the time that the Hur study was a "partisan deed job." CNN's media newsman astatine the time, Oliver Darcy, insisted that Hur's depiction of Biden's intelligence authorities "didn’t lucifer reality."

The New York Times went with the "Republicans pounce" framing erstwhile covering Biden's reported representation issues and ex-MSNBC big Keith Olbermann raged that Hur "should beryllium fired immediately" for offering an "amateur aesculapian opinion." 

The media lined up high-profile Democrats to support Biden, too. 

Then-Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas appeared connected NBC’s "Meet the Press" to bash the study arsenic "gratuitous, unnecessary and inaccurate idiosyncratic remarks."

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MSNBC’s Jen Psaki, a erstwhile Biden property secretary, invited then-Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., onto her programme to accidental Hur would beryllium "disciplined oregon fired" if helium were a emblematic prosecutor. 

"What helium did was rather deliberate and destructive and besides conscionable plain false," Schiff said arsenic Psaki nodded along. 

Rep. Dan Goldman, D-N.Y., said connected CNN, "It was highly gratuitous, unnecessary and conscionable a governmental potshot." 

Journalist Drew Holden posted a lengthy social media thread past week detailing different examples of the media attacking Hur’s report, including then-NBC News big Chuck Todd telling viewers it played into the "right-wing sound machine" and USA Today rounding up "sympathetic voices" to disregard the findings. 

Holden besides enactment a spotlight connected The Washington Post, citing experts who insisted representation losses "are amazingly normal" and a New York Times study that said Biden appeared "clearheaded" speech from fumbling a fewer dates. 

CNN HOST SUGGESTS ROBERT HUR 'UNDERSOLD' EXTENT OF BIDEN MEMORY LAPSES DURING SPECIAL COUNSEL INTERVIEW

CNN big Abby Phillip suggested Robert Hur "undersold" the grade of Biden's diminution aft interrogation audio was released.  (Screenshot/CNN)

Many longtime Biden allies person since travel astir aft audio obtained by Axios contained clips from respective interviews between Biden and Hur related to the probe.  

On CNN, big Abby Phillip suggested Hur "undersold" the grade of Biden’s diminution and threw the erstwhile president and the Democratic Party "a lifeline." 

"In a way, Robert Hur benignant of undersold this," Phillip said. "He benignant of threw Joe Biden a lifeline. It was an opportunity, actually, for Democrats to instrumentality it seriously, possibly alteration gears astatine that point, possibly springiness a imaginable nominee much time."

Former Obama spokesperson and governmental commentator Tommy Vietor wrote past week that critics of Hur’s study "weren’t wholly fair."

"[T]he publication made maine recognize however important that discourse was for Hur successful explaining his determination NOT to complaint Biden, and I present consciousness that galore of the attacks connected Hur, including by me, weren’t wholly fair," Vietor wrote.

He added that helium inactive believed the concern astir Biden’s representation was "complicated" but that "clearly Biden was experiencing cognitive decline." 

"The just-released audio intelligibly shows a feline who should not beryllium moving for reelection," Vietor wrote. 

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Fox News Digital’s Lindsay Kornick and Hanna Panreck contributed to this report.