A special counsel has concluded that US President Joe Biden "willfully retained" classified documents after serving as vice president, but no charges are merited.
"We conclude that no criminal charges are warranted in this matter," said special counsel Robert Hur on Thursday, with Biden coming across as a "well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory."
Both Biden and the White House welcomed the decision, but the latter criticised what it called inappropriate comments in the report.
"We disagree with a number of inaccurate and inappropriate comments in the Special Counsel's report," Biden's White House lawyer, Richard Sauber, said in a statement.
Biden has tried to draw a line under a Justice Department report that said he kept classified documents before coming to office but would not face charges.
"I was pleased to see they reached the conclusion I believed all along they would reach — that there would be no charges brought in this case, and the matter is now closed," Biden said in a statement on Thursday.
A Trump spokesperson, Karoline Leavitt, reacted by posting on X: "How are we supposed to trust his ability to lead our country if his memory has 'significant limitations' ?!?!"
Investigations
The report comes after a yearlong investigation into the improper retention of classified documents by Biden, from his time as a senator and as vice president, that was found at his Delaware home, as well as at a private office that he used in between his service in the Obama administration and becoming president.
The investigation into Biden is separate from special counsel Jack Smith's inquiry into Trump's handling of classified documents after Trump left the White House.
Smith's team has charged Trump with illegally retaining top secret records at Mar-a-Lago home and then obstructing government efforts to get them back.
Trump has said he did nothing wrong.
After Biden's lawyers uncovered classified documents at his former office, Biden's representatives promptly contacted the National Archives to arrange their return to the government.
The National Archives notified the FBI, which opened an investigation. Biden made his homes available to agents to conduct thorough searches, and that is how the most sensitive documents came to the attention of the Justice Department.
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