Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco recused herself from the special counsel's probe into President Joe Biden's mishandling of classified materials last year, Axios reported.
Special counsel Robert Hur concluded that Biden mishandled classified documents, but he refused to prosecute the octogenarian president because he would come across in front of a jury as a "well-meaning elderly man with a poor memory."
Worries about Biden's cognitive state continued through the June 27 presidential debate with former President Donald Trump. The president's disastrous performance in the debate motivated leading Democrats to push Biden to end his reelection bid.
Monaco, considered a likely contender for attorney general under Democrat presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris, removed herself from the investigation, Axios reported Monday night.
One source told the outlet that after Hur issued his report, Monaco told the White House chief of staff's office she would have handled the probe differently.
After initially declining comment to Axios, a spokesperson for Biden's chief of staff said, "Jeff Zients did not hear this from Deputy AG Monaco."
Asked why Monaco recused herself from Hur's investigation, a Department of Justice spokesperson said the department "does not comment on internal deliberations and it would not be appropriate to discuss any recusals here."
A spokesperson for Monaco said 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."
Before Boeing agreed to a plea deal last month, the American Economic Liberties Project and a coalition of groups demanded Monaco recuse herself in a case against Boeing from the deliberations given her conflicts of interest due to "personal and financial ties to the company."
The groups urged the DOJ not to let Boeing "off the hook with a plea deal."
Boeing agreed to plead guilty to a criminal fraud conspiracy charge and pay a fine of $243.6 million to resolve a DOJ investigation into two 737 MAX fatal crashes, the government said in a court filing.
Charlie McCarthy ✉
Charlie McCarthy, a writer/editor at Newsmax, has nearly 40 years of experience covering news, sports, and politics.
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