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Robert Hur
Official portrait, 2018
Special Counsel for the United States Department of Justice
In office
January 12, 2023 – March 11, 2024
Appointed byMerrick Garland
United States Attorney for the District of Maryland
In office
April 9, 2018 – February 15, 2021
PresidentDonald Trump
Joe Biden
Preceded byRod Rosenstein
Succeeded byErek Barron
Personal details
Born
Robert Kyoung Hur

1973 (age 50–51)
New York City, U.S.
Political partyRepublican[1]
EducationHarvard University (BA)
King's College, Cambridge (BA)
Stanford University (JD)

Robert Kyoung Hur (born 1973) is an American lawyer appointed by Donald Trump to serve as the United States Attorney for the District of Maryland from 2018 to 2021. He previously served as Principal Associate Deputy Attorney General with the U.S. Department of Justice. Hur oversaw the 2023–2024 investigation into President Joe Biden's alleged mishandling of classified documents during Biden's time as vice president.

Early life and education

Hur was born in 1973 in New York City to South Korean parents. His father, Young Hur, was an anesthesiologist, and his mother, Haesook Hur, worked as the office manager for her husband's anesthesiology practice.[2][3][4] He was raised in Los Angeles where he attended the Harvard School (now Harvard-Westlake School).[4][5]

Hur studied English and American literature at Harvard University, graduating in 1995 with a Bachelor of Arts, magna cum laude. From 1995 to 1996, Hur did graduate study in philosophy at King's College, Cambridge, receiving first-class honours.[6][7] From 1996 to 1998, he worked for Boston Consulting Group. He then attended Stanford Law School, where he was the executive editor of the Stanford Law Review and won the school's Kirkwood Moot Court Competition. He graduated in 2001 with a Juris Doctor and membership in the Order of the Coif.[2]

Career

After law school, Hur was a law clerk for Judge Alex Kozinski of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit from 2001 to 2002 and for Chief Justice William Rehnquist of the U.S. Supreme Court from 2002 to 2003.[2]

He then served as Special Assistant and Counsel to Christopher A. Wray, then Assistant Attorney General in charge of the Justice Department's Criminal Division. From 2007 to 2014, he served as an Assistant United States Attorney in the District of Maryland, where he prosecuted gang violence, drug trafficking and firearms offenses, and white-collar crimes. He was formerly a partner with King & Spalding in Washington, D.C., where his practice focused on government investigations and complex litigation.[8]

United States Attorney

Hur rejoined the Department of Justice as Principal Associate Deputy Attorney General, a top aide to Rod Rosenstein after Rosenstein became Deputy Attorney General. He was a liaison to Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigation of Russian interference in the 2016 election.[9]

On November 1, 2017, Hur was nominated by President Donald Trump to be the next United States Attorney for the District of Maryland.[10] On March 22, 2018, his nomination was reported out of committee by voice vote.[11] He was unanimously confirmed in the US Senate by voice vote later the same day.[12] He was sworn in on April 9, 2018.[13]

On February 3, 2021, Hur announced his resignation, effective February 15.[14] Following his departure from the U.S. Attorney position, Hur became a partner in the Washington, D.C., office of Gibson Dunn, a national law firm.[15]

Special Counsel

Main article: Joe Biden classified documents incident
Appointment of Robert K. Hur as Special Counsel

On January 12, 2023, Attorney General Merrick Garland appointed Hur to oversee the United States Department of Justice's investigation into President Joe Biden's alleged mishandling of classified documents during his time as vice president.[16]

Garland notified Congress on February 7, 2024, that Hur had concluded his investigation, and no charges were recommended.[17][18] In the final report with which Hur concluded his investigation, he stated that he found “evidence that President Biden willfully retained and disclosed classified materials after his vice presidency when he was a private citizen."[19] He concluded that "no criminal charges are warranted in this matter ... even if there was no policy against charging a sitting president", because the "evidence does not establish Mr. Biden's guilt beyond a reasonable doubt." He also cited Biden's memory as a factor, concluding that "Biden would likely present himself to a jury ... as a sympathetic, well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory."[20][21][22] The White House rebuked Hur's characterization as inappropriate, politicized commentary that veered from standards of unbiased, legal analysis.[23][24][25] Other Democratic Party voices, such as James Carville and David Axelrod, expressed concern that the report would negatively contribute to Biden's image in the ongoing political conversation about age in the 2024 presidential election.[26][27] Associate deputy attorney general Bradley Weinsheimer, the DOJ's senior nonpolitical career official, rejected White House criticisms in an official response, stating that the report's comments "fall well within the department’s standards for public release".[28][29]

On March 11, 2024, Hur resigned from the Department of Justice.[30] A redacted version of Hur's interview transcript was released on March 12. According to NPR, the transcript painted "a more nuanced portrait of the president than was described in Hur's report".[31] The Associated Press wrote that "the reality of the situation... isn’t as clear as either Biden or Hur portrayed."[32] According to The Washington Post, "Biden doesn’t come across as being as absent-minded as Hur has made him out to be."[33] On the same day, Hur testified about his investigation before the House Judiciary Committee.[34]

Personal life

Hur married Cara Brewer, an attorney, in 2004. They met two years earlier on a Washington, D.C. subway.[3]

Hur has made donations to the campaigns of at least three Republican political candidates, for less than one thousand dollars combined.[35]

See also

References

  1. ^ Marimow, Ann E.; Stein, Perry (January 12, 2023). "Robert Hur, a 'No Nonsense' Former Prosecutor, Will Examine Biden Documents". The Washington Post. Retrieved January 13, 2023. Hur is a registered Republican, according to Maryland voter records.
  2. ^ a b c "Robert K. Hur, U.S. Attorney (Maryland)". Maryland Manual On-line. Maryland State Archives. Retrieved 2023-01-13.
  3. ^ a b "Cara Brewer, Robert Hur". The New York Times. December 19, 2004. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved January 12, 2023.
  4. ^ a b Gersen, Jeannie Suk (2024-03-22). "Why Robert Hur Called Biden an "Elderly Man with a Poor Memory"". The New Yorker. ISSN 0028-792X.
  5. ^ Segil, Sara (8 February 2023). "Robert Hur '91 appointed to be special counsel in Biden probe". The Chronicle. Retrieved 12 March 2024.
  6. ^ Weissert, Will (2023-01-12). "Who is Robert Hur, special counsel in Biden documents case?". AP News. Retrieved 2024-03-16.
  7. ^ Huie, Laura (2021-04-06). "Robert Hur, Former U.S. Attorney for District of Maryland, Joins Gibson Dunn's D.C. Office". Gibson Dunn. Retrieved 2024-03-16.
  8. ^ "President Donald J. Trump Announces Eighth Wave of United States Attorney Nominations". whitehouse.gov. November 1, 2017. Retrieved February 13, 2018 – via National Archives.Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  9. ^ Jones, Dustin (14 January 2023). "Who is Robert Hur, the special counsel leading the Biden classified documents inquiry". NPR. Retrieved 14 January 2023.
  10. ^ "Eleven Nominations Sent to the Senate Today". whitehouse.gov. November 2, 2017. Retrieved February 13, 2018 – via National Archives.
  11. ^ Results of Executive Business Meeting – March 22, 2018, Senate Judiciary Committee
  12. ^ PN1209 — Robert K. Hur — Department of Justice, congress.gov
  13. ^ "Robert K. Hur is Sworn in as the 48th United States Attorney for the District of Maryland". 9 April 2018.
  14. ^ "United States Attorney Robert K. Hur to Leave Department of Justice After Serving as Chief Federal Law Enforcement Officer in Maryland Since 2018" (Press release). Baltimore, Maryland: United States Attorney's Office. February 3, 2021. Retrieved February 17, 2021.
  15. ^ "People: Robert K, Hur - Partner". LawTally. Retrieved 3 February 2023.
  16. ^ "Garland Appoints Special Counsel to Handle Biden Documents Inquiry". The New York Times. January 12, 2023.
  17. ^ Gerstein, Josh (7 February 2024). "Biden classified document probe ends without charges". Politico.
  18. ^ Madhani, Aamer; Peoples, Steve; Long, Colleen (February 8, 2024). "Takeaways from the special counsel's report on Biden's handling of classified documents". Associated Press. Retrieved February 9, 2024.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  19. ^ Lim, Clarissa-Jan (February 8, 2024). "Special counsel issues final report in Biden classified docs probe". MSNBC. Retrieved February 9, 2024.
  20. ^ Shear, Michael D. (February 8, 2024). "Special Counsel's Report Puts Biden's Age and Memory in the Spotlight". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved February 9, 2024.
  21. ^ Thomas, Pierre; Mallin, Alexander; Bruggeman, Lucien; Faulders, Katherine (February 9, 2024). "Special counsel won't charge Biden in classified docs probe, despite evidence he 'willfully retained' materials". ABC News. Retrieved February 9, 2024.
  22. ^ Woodruff Swan, Betsy (February 8, 2024). "Special counsel passes on charging Biden but paints damning portrait of him". Politico.
  23. ^ Kanno-Youngs, Zolan; Green, Erica L.; Glueck, Katie (2024-02-09). "White House Calls Special Counsel Report on Biden Politically Motivated". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2024-02-10.
  24. ^ "Biden angrily pushes back at special counsel's report that questioned his memory, handling of docs". AP News. 2024-02-08. Retrieved 2024-02-10.
  25. ^ Hutzler, Alexandra (February 9, 2024). "White House fires back at special counsel report, Harris calls descriptions 'politically motivated'". ABC News. Retrieved 2024-02-10.
  26. ^ "How old are the 2024 presidential candidates? Full list of ages for Biden, Trump and more". USA TODAY. Retrieved 2024-02-12.
  27. ^ Goldmacher, Shane; Epstein, Reid J.; Glueck, Katie (9 February 2024). "Eight Words and a Verbal Slip Put Biden's Age Back at the Center of 2024". The New York Times.
  28. ^ "White House Clashed With Justice Dept. Over Special Counsel Report". New York Times. February 15, 2024. Archived from the original on February 15, 2024. Retrieved February 15, 2024.
  29. ^ "White House lawyers wrote Garland slamming Hur's report before its release". Politico. February 15, 2024. Archived from the original on February 15, 2024. Retrieved February 15, 2024.
  30. ^ "Robert Hur will testify Tuesday March 12, 2024 in front of Congress". The Independent. 2024-03-11. Retrieved 2024-03-11.
  31. ^ "Interview transcript shows more nuance on Biden's memory than special counsel report". NPR. 2024.
  32. ^ "Hur said Biden couldn't recall when his son died. The interview transcript is more complicated". AP News. 2024-03-12.
  33. ^ Viser, Matt (2024-03-12). "Full transcript of Biden's special counsel interview paints nuanced portrait". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286.
  34. ^ Chowdhury, Maureen; Shelton, Shania; Radford, Antoinette; Vogt, Adrienne; Shen, Michelle; D'Antonio, Isabelle (2024-03-12). "Robert Hur testifies on Biden classified documents investigations". CNN. Retrieved 2024-03-13.
  35. ^ Shabad, Rebecca (January 12, 2023). "Who is Robert Hur? The special counsel looking into Biden's classified documents". NBC News. Retrieved February 9, 2024.
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