Special counsel Robert Hur was thanking the president for his time. He understood, Hur said, that there were a lot of things going on that demanded Joe Biden’s attention.
“We may be interrupted by one,” Biden said, explaining that he’d just gotten off the phone with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. It was Oct. 8, 2023, the day after the attack on Israel by Hamas, and the president was navigating a major multi-task, trying to prevent a wider Mideast conflict while looking out for his own interests at a time of potential legal jeopardy.
Still, Biden told prosecutors he hoped they could get through the interview. And Hur let the president know they appreciated it.
Their exchange was in a transcript released Tuesday of five hours of Biden interviews with federal prosecutors who investigated his handling of classified documents and concluded there was not enough evidence to charge him with any crimes.
While the release of the transcript may not have altered preconceived notions about Biden, it did offer a rare window into the profound and mundane realities of day-to-day life for the president.
In his conversations with investigators, Biden makes offhand remarks about working in his pajamas as vice president, laments over his oh-so messy garage at his house in Delaware and talks of juggling international crises while other matters intrude.
Read more here from The Associated Press.
