Scoop: Deputy AG recused herself from Biden probe
Add Axios as your preferred source to
see more of our stories on Google.
From left: Deputy AG Lisa Monaco, AG Merrick Garland and FBI Director Christopher Wray speak at an Election Threats Task Force meeting in May. Photo: Andrew Harnik via Getty Images
Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco recused herself from the special counsel's investigation into President Biden's handling of classified materials last year, three people close to the White House told Axios.
Why it matters: The reason for the recusal remains unclear, but after special counsel Robert Hur's investigation concluded, Monaco conveyed to the White House chief of staff's office that she would have handled the controversial probe differently, one of the sources told Axios.
Zoom in: Attorney General Merrick Garland's appointment of Hur in early 2023 was one of his most consequential and controversial decisions.
- The release of his report in February prompted a wave of concern about Biden's age.
- Hur declined to press charges against the president in part, he wrote, because a jury would see Biden as a "sympathetic, well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory."
- Worries about Biden's mental fitness persisted through the June 27 presidential debate which prompted Democratic lawmakers to push Biden to drop out of the race.
Driving the news: Monaco's recusal on one of the department's most politically sensitive investigations raised eyebrows among some in Biden's orbit.
- Asked why she recused herself from the investigation, a spokesperson for Monaco said the department "does not comment on internal deliberations and it would not be appropriate to discuss any recusals here."
Asked about Monaco's comments to the chief of staff's office, a spokesperson for Chief of Staff Jeff Zients declined to comment.
- After this story published, Zients' spokesperson reached back out to add: "Jeff Zients did not hear this from Deputy AG Monaco."
- Monaco — a likely contender for attorney general in a Kamala Harris administration — declined to comment but a spokesperson told Axios that she "has never discussed the Hur investigation with the White House, and has not disagreed with the Attorney General on the handling of any significant matter."
- A separate senior administration official added: "I've worked closely with Lisa for a very long time and she would not do this."
Flashback: Biden's White House and outside legal team were publicly furious with Hur, and privately seethed at Garland after Hur's report was released.
- They argued Hur inappropriately included commentary about Biden's mental fitness after the president sat for several hours of interviews.
- Before the report's release, Biden's White House privately appealed to the Justice Department that Hur had "openly, obviously and blatantly" violated department policies, and that the report should be changed before its release.
The Justice Department declined that request.
- Bradley Weinsheimer, the associate deputy attorney general under Monaco and a longtime Justice Department employee, responded that "the department concludes that the report as submitted to the attorney general, and its release, are consistent with legal requirements and department policy."
