Biden audio from special counsel interview highlights frequent memory lapses, difficulty staying on topic

Former President Joe Biden’s sprawling question and reply pinch Special Counsel Robert Hur laid bare his fading memory and evident trouble staying connected topic, arsenic audio from nan October 2023 chat revealed he often veered disconnected people into lengthy anecdotes while being questioned astir his handling of classified documents.

The mostly upbeat and affable then-80-year-old president often cracked jokes, waxed nostalgic and utilized saucy connection — but besides rambled, trailed disconnected and often forgot nan dates of cardinal events successful his life — including erstwhile his son, Beau, died of encephalon crab — nan audio showed.

The audio, which was first obtained by Axios this week aft astir 18 months of Biden’s campy refusing to merchandise it, sheds ray connected Hur’s assertion from past twelvemonth that if Biden was brought to proceedings complete nan classified documents statement they would comprehend him arsenic “a sympathetic, well-meaning, aged man pinch a mediocre memory,” though nary charges were ever filed.

The now-82-year-old’s flimsy grasp of facts and dates was particularly evident erstwhile responding to Hur’s mobility astir wherever he kept documents related to projects he was moving connected aft his vice presidency ended successful 2017, erstwhile nan Bidens moved into a rented property connected Chain Island Road successful McLean, Va.

“Well, um… I, I, I, I, I don’t know. This is what, 2017? 2018? That area?”

“Yes, sir,” Hur confirmed.

“Remember, successful this timeframe, my boy is — either been deployed aliases is dying, and truthful it was — and by nan way, location were still a batch of group astatine nan clip erstwhile I sewage retired of nan Senate that were encouraging maine to tally successful this period, isolated from nan president. I’m not — and not a mean point to say. He conscionable thought [Hillary Clinton] had a amended changeable of winning nan presidency than I did.”

Beau Biden, successful fact, was deployed successful Iraq from October 2008 to October 2009, and died May 30, 2015. The mention of Hillary Clinton arsenic a statesmanlike campaigner pegs nan timeframe he was referencing arsenic sometime earlier April 12, 2015, erstwhile she formally announced her candidacy for nan 2016 election.

“I hadn’t walked distant from nan thought that I whitethorn tally for agency again. But if I ran again, I’d beryllium moving for president,” Biden continued.

“And, and truthful what was happening though … what period did Beau die? Oh, God, May 30th …”

White House Counsel Rachel Cotton and an unidentified antheral speaker quickly chimed successful and reminded nan then-president that nan twelvemonth his boy died was 2015.

“Was it 2015 he died?” Biden asked.

“It was May of 2015,” nan unidentified antheral speaker said.

“It was 2015,” Biden repeated.

Biden past apparently struggled to retrieve erstwhile President Trump was elected for his first term.

“And that’s what happened successful nan meantime is that arsenic — and Trump gets elected successful November of 2017?” he asked, sounding uncertain.

“2016,” said an unidentified antheral speaker.

“‘16,” said another.

“‘16, 2016. All right. So … why do I person 2017 here?” a confused Biden asked.

“That’s erstwhile you near office, January 2017,” White House Counsel Edward Siskel reminded him.

“Yeah, OK. But that’s erstwhile Trump gets sworn in, then, January …”

“Right,” said Siskel.

“Right, correct,” said his individual attorney, Bob Bauer.

Biden past launched into a fractured anecdote astir his son, Beau, taking lengthy pauses and trailing disconnected aft respective different thoughts.

“OK, yeah. And successful 2017, Beau had passed and — this is individual — nan genesis of nan book and nan title ‘Promise Me, Dad’, was a, uh … I cognize you’re each adjacent pinch your sons and daughters, but Beau was for illustration my correct limb and Hunt was my left,” he said.

“Those guys were a twelvemonth and a time apart, and they could decorativeness each other’s sentences, and Beau – I utilized to spell location connected nan train, and — successful nan play — that I was still successful nan Senate … anyway,” he said earlier a afloat seven-second region without speaking.

“There was unit — not unit — Beau knew really overmuch I adored him, and I cognize this sounds … possibly this sounds truthful … everybody knew really adjacent we were. There was not anybody successful nan world who wondered whether aliases not … anyway. And truthful …”

At this point, Hur interrupted Biden and suggested it mightiness beryllium a bully clip to return a break, which nan president declined.

“No, I … fto maine conscionable support going to get it done,” he said earlier continuing his rambling anecdote astir his eventual determination to tally for president.

A fewer minutes successful nan audio later, Biden had to beryllium reminded erstwhile he announced he would activity nan presidency.

“… well, erstwhile did I denote for president?” he asked

“2019,” Deputy Special Counsel Marc Krickbaum said, which Hur echoed.

Biden’s evident cognitive and beingness diminution became cardinal issues starring to his disastrous statement capacity successful June 2024, which yet led to him dropping retired of nan title little than a period later.

Throughout June and July of past year, Democrats and left-leaning media bullied immoderate reporting that nan then-president had mislaid a measurement arsenic “fake news,” dismissing video showing him appearing confused aliases experiencing a freeze-up arsenic “cheap fakes.“

Now, however, galore of those aforesaid media figures who insisted Biden was “sharp arsenic a tack” past summer, including galore Democratic allies, person begun to mobility whether nan erstwhile president’s soul circle hid his foggy intelligence authorities from nan American public.

This week, Biden was diagnosed pinch an “aggressive” shape of prostate cancer, which has already invaded nan 82-year-old’s bones. The test has raised caller questions astir whether his physicians knew he had crab moreover arsenic he was seeking a 2nd word arsenic president.