Biden negotiating over classified documents interview terms

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Attorneys for President Joe Biden and the special counsel appointed to investigate his handling of classified documents have been negotiating for about a month over the terms under which he would be interviewed, two people familiar with the matter said.

Discussions between Biden’s lawyers and special counsel Robert Hur’s office are focused on how, when and where the interview might take place, as well as the scope of the questions, these people said. They stressed that the negotiations are ongoing and that no agreement has been reached.

The back-and-forth suggests that the probe — now in its eighth month — may not be wrapping up imminently. But an interview with the person at the center of an investigation typically takes place near the end of the process.

A spokesperson for Biden’s personal attorney, Bob Bauer, declined to comment Thursday, as did a spokesperson for Hur.

The White House declined to comment and referred questions to the Justice Department, citing the ongoing nature of the investigation.

For months now, Biden’s lawyers have been gaming out various scenarios for an interview, with the expectation that he would provide one once his legal team and the special counsel agreed on the specifics.

The searches, however, also turned up a large number of notebooks Biden kept during his time in public office before he was elected president that could contain sensitive information.

It is unclear exactly how many documents were seized for review and whether that is still a major factor contributing to the length of the investigation.

The Biden team would like to know in advance, ideally, whether a sit-down with the special counsel would include questions about material beyond the vice presidency, and they would prefer to limit the scope, one of the people familiar with the negotiations said.

Biden has pledged to cooperate “fully and completely” with the Justice Department’s investigation.

Attorney General Merrick Garland appointed Hur in January, two months after he named Jack Smith as special counsel to oversee the investigation into former President Donald Trump’s handling of classified documents and alleged efforts to overturn the 2020 election.