White House hits back at ‘gratuitous remarks’ about Joe Biden after report calls president’s memory ‘poor’
The White House has said “gratuitous remarks” about Joe Biden’s memory are “wrong and inaccurate” after a report called the president’s mental capacity into question.
Ian Sams, a spokesman for the White House legal counsel’s office, hit back after special counsel Robert Hur’s ruling on the president’s handling of classified documents described his memory as “significantly limited”.
Vice President Kamala Harris also criticised the findings, telling reporters on Friday: “The way that the president’s demeanour in that report was characterised could not be more wrong on the facts and [is] clearly politically motivated.”
It comes after the 400-page report repeatedly made reference to the president’s “hazy” and “poor” memory, and claimed he could not remember in interviews when he was vice president or when his son, Beau Biden, had died.
While justice department official Mr Hur chose not to bring criminal charges against Mr Biden, his comments prompted the 81-year-old to hold a fractious press conference the same night.
Speaking at the White House on Friday, Mr Sams was asked if anything was being done to address concerns about the president. He fired back: “I have a lot of issues with the contents of that question.
“Unfortunately the gratuitous remarks… have naturally caught headlines and all of your attention. They’re wrong and they’re inaccurate.”
Pic: AP
He added: “On page five of the report… it says: ‘Mr Biden’s memory was significantly limited’… But elsewhere in the report he says: ‘we expect the evidence of Mr Biden’s state of mind to be compelling’, pointing to him providing, quote, ‘clear’ and ‘forceful’ testimony.
“That’s his comments on his state of mind later in the report. So I think it’s important to take the report in its totality.”
Mr Sams also accused Mr Hur’s of “veer[ing] all over the place”. He added: “I can just say that as you’ve heard from the vice president, you’ve heard from members of congress yesterday talking but their recent interactions with the president…
“We just reject that this is true. I think that it does raise questions about the gratuitousness and it makes you wonder why that’s in there.”
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‘Shortage of evidence’
The White House spokesman also noted that on page two “the report argues that the president wilfully retained [classified] materials”.
He said: “But buried way later on page 215, the report says, and I quote, ‘there is, in fact, a shortage of evidence on these points’. Two hundred pages later.
“Put simply, this case is closed because the facts and the evidence don’t support the theories here.”
Mr Sams also announced that Biden will appoint a task force to review the handling of classified documents during the transition of power between presidential administrations, and added that “every administration for the last half a century” has had problems with the transfer of files.
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Mr Hur’s report came following a string of gaffes in recent days by Mr Biden.
On Monday, he confused French President Emmanuel Macron with Francois Mitterrand, who died in 1996, and on Tuesday appeared to forget the name Hamas while discussing the war in Gaza.
Mr Biden also mixed up former chancellor Angela Merkel with one of her predecessors Helmut Kohl on Wednesday. A White House spokesperson said afterwards: “Many people, elected officials… they can misspeak sometimes.”
Donald Trump has waded into the debate surrounding Sydney Sweeney’s jeans ad.
The American Eagle ad, which features the 27-year-old actress, who starred in the HBO series Euphoria and White Lotus, has the tagline “Sydney Sweeney has great jeans”.
It has sparked a debate in the US over race and Western beauty standards.
One of the Sydney Sweeney jeans ads. Pic: AP
In a Truth Social post, the US president described it as the “hottest ad out there”.
Hailing Sweeney as a “registered Republican”, he said the jeans are “flying off the shelves”, adding: “Go get ’em Sydney!”
Most of the criticism of the ad has centred on videos using the word “genes” instead of “jeans”, with one in which Sweeney says: “Genes are passed down from parents to offspring, often determining traits like hair colour, personality and even eye colour. My jeans are blue.”
Critics argued the play on words potentially promotes eugenics, a discredited theory that believed humanity could be improved through the selective breeding of certain traits.
But others have defended the ad, saying the critics are reading too much into its message.
The video appeared on American Eagle’s Facebook page and other social media channels, but is not part of the ad campaign.
In a statement on Instagram on Friday, American Eagle Outfitters said the campaign “is and always was about the jeans. Her jeans. Her story. We’ll continue to celebrate how everyone wears their AE jeans with confidence, their way. Great jeans look good on everyone.”
Stocks in American Eagle Outfitters jumped by 23.3% after Mr Trump’s intervention.
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In his Truth Social post, which he reposted three times to fix various typos, Mr Trump compared the ad with “woke” ones “on the other side of the ledger” – as he criticised other companies, as well as hitting out at Taylor Swift.
“The tide has seriously turned – Being WOKE is for losers, being Republican is what you want to be,” he wrote.
Sky News has contacted Sweeney’s agent for comment.
Police in Tennessee have discovered 14 improvised explosive devices in a man’s home as they were arresting him, the local sheriff’s office said.
Officers were executing a warrant in the home of Kevin Wade O’Neal in Old Fort, about 45 miles (70km) east of Chattanooga, after he had threatened to kill public officials and law enforcement personnel in Polk County.
After arresting the 54-year-old, officers noticed “something smouldering” in the bedroom where he was found.
Kevin Wade O’Neal. Pic: Polk County Sheriff’s Office
On closer inspection, they discovered an improvised explosive device and evacuated the house until bomb squad officers arrived at the scene.
Fourteen devices were found inside the property – none of which detonated.
Improvised explosive devices were found in Kevin Wade O’Neal’s home. Pic: Polk County Sheriff’s Office
Kevin Wade O’Neal’s home in Old Fort, Tennessee. Pic: Polk County Sheriff’s Office
O’Neal was charged with 11 counts of attempted first-degree murder, corresponding to nine officers and two other people inside the property when the suspect tried to detonate the devices.
He also faces 14 counts of prohibited weapons and one count of possession of explosive components.
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O’Neal is being held at the Polk County jail and his bond is yet to be determined.
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