CNN
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The Justice Department’s investigation into classified documents found in President Joe Biden’s home and former private office will be overseen by former U.S. Attorney Robert Hurr in Maryland, a “long and distinguished attorney,” he announced Thursday.
Hurr was nominated by then-President Donald Trump to be U.S. attorney in Maryland in 2017, and served in that position until his resignation in 2021. At work, Harr was instrumental in several high-profile cases. A children’s book scandal involving then-Baltimore Mayor Catherine Pugh As a result, Book was sentenced to three years in prison.
He has most recently been in private practice in Washington, DC.
“Rob has been around a long time — he knows what he’s doing,” former Trump deputy attorney general Rod Rosenstein, who served as a senior adviser to him for a time, told CNN on Thursday.
“I think he understands the need to ignore politics and focus on what’s important,” Rosenstein added.
In announcing the appointment, Garland noted that Harr “oversaw some of the department’s most important national security, public corruption and other high-profile matters.”
“I will ensure that Mr. Harr gets all the resources he needs to carry out his duties,” he said.
Harr on Thursday promised to “conduct the reserved inquiry with a fair, impartial and dispassionate judgement”.
“I want to pursue the facts quickly and thoroughly without fear or favour, and I respect the trust placed in me to perform this service,” he said in a statement.
Harr also served as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in Maryland and previously served as Principal Deputy Attorney General in the Department of Justice.
Prior to her time with the DOJ, Hurr was a law clerk to Chief Justice William Rehnquist and clerked to federal appeals judge Alex Kozinski.
“Even though he had a gold-plated resume, he was a humble, hard-working man,” said Stuart Berman.
Berman noted that Harr has taken on a wide variety of cases as a lawyer, including violent crime, prescription fraud and mortgage fraud.
Hurr was unanimously confirmed by the Senate in 2018 to serve as U.S. attorney, at which time he received praise from both of Maryland’s Democratic senators, who expressed confidence in his ability to handle important issues facing the state.
Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan, a Republican, praised the appointment on Thursday.
“Former Maryland U.S. Attorney Rob Hurr is a lawyer of the highest caliber and integrity,” Hogan said in a statement. “I have confidence in his ability to get the facts and hold him to account. No one is above the law in this country.
Thursday’s announcement came hours after the White House counsel’s office said in a statement that Biden’s aides found documents with classified identification in two locations inside his home in Wilmington, Delaware.
The initial batch of documents discovered when Biden’s personal lawyers were packing files in his former private office in DC contained 10 classified documents, including US intelligence materials and briefing notes on Ukraine, Iran and the United Kingdom.
At the Justice Department, Hur worked with Rosenstein on special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election, the former deputy attorney general told CNN.
Hurr “was my point person and he had biweekly meetings with Mueller’s team, and then the Russian special counsel briefed me on the progress of the investigation,” Rosenstein said. “So he’s seen it firsthand and he knows that you don’t have to be swayed by politics and make decisions based on fact and law and judicial principle, and I think Rob can be trusted to do that.”
Rosenstein added: “Rob, like many people I worked with at DOJ, believes in the importance of public service and feels a sense of responsibility. So, it’s hard to say ‘no’ when someone invites you to do what you know will be an unpleasant chore.
While serving as Rosenstein’s top aide, Hurr appeared at a Trump White House press conference in July 2017 to talk about the administration’s efforts to crack down on the notorious MS-13 gang. The appearance on the White House press conference podium was unusual, as the DOJ typically tries to distance itself from the White House on matters that are seen as political in nature.
This story has been updated with additional details.
