Special Counsel Robert Hur responded to lawmaker's questions during his testimony on his decision not to indict President Joe Biden, and Gov. Ron DeSantis' new appointment to an elections post lays out his plan.
Special Counsel Hur defends Biden recommendation
Facing attacks from both House Republicans and Democrats, special counsel Robert Hur on Tuesday defended his decision not to recommend criminal charges against President Joe Biden despite concluding he willfully retained and shared highly classified information as a private citizen.
In a Judiciary Committee hearing, GOP lawmakers grilled Hur about why he did not believe Biden’s conduct met the standard for prosecution. Some also accused the Justice Department of having a double standard because it is pursuing charges against former President Donald Trump in his own classified documents case.
Meanwhile, Democrats repeatedly pointed out differences between Biden’s and Trump’s cases, with some even accusing Hur, a Republican, of unnecessarily questioning Biden’s memory in his report for political reasons.
In the report he submitted to Attorney General Merrick Garland, Hur wrote that his investigation “uncovered evidence that President Biden willfully retained and disclosed classified materials after his vice presidency when he was a private citizen.”
Justice Department policy protects a sitting president from being charged with crimes, but Hur said, even if he could file charges against Biden, he would not recommend prosecuting the president because the evidence did not prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. Hur added his report that “Mr. Biden would likely present himself to a jury, as he did during our interview of him, as a sympathetic, well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory.”
The report noted that Biden could not recall defining milestones in his own life, such as when his son Beau died.
It was a shocking contention about a keystone event in Biden’s life, and it fed into questions about whether the 81-year-old president is fit to serve another term.
“How in the hell dare he raise that?” Biden angrily declared during a hastily arranged press conference after the report was released. “Frankly, when I was asked the question, I thought to myself it wasn’t any of their damn business.”
The characterization about the 81-year-old Biden’s mental acuity has been seized upon by Republicans to suggest he is unfit to be president, while Democrats have blasted Hur for denigrating the president.
Hur told the Judiciary Committee that he understood his report needed to include “rigorous, detailed, and thorough analysis” because Garland had appointed him to investigate the attorney general’s boss.
“I knew that for my decision to be credible, I could not simply announce that I recommended no criminal charges and leave it at that," Hur said. "I needed to explain why."
“I did not sanitize my explanation,” he added. “Nor did I disparage the president unfairly.”
Hur added that the evidence, and Biden himself, “put his memory squarely at issue.”
DeSantis' new pick for Orange County Supervisor of Elections speaks out
As Glen Gilzean tells it, he never expected to serve as Orange County’s Supervisor of Elections.
That changed, he said, when he received a call from a staffer for Gov. Ron DeSantis.
“The phone just rings, I get a call and they say, 'You are needed, and because of your track record and great things you’ve done over at the (Central Florida Tourism Oversight) District, we ask that you come over to the office and provide some support,'” Gilzean said.
That call created a sudden shift in Gilzean’s focus as DeSantis appointed him to replace former Orange County Supervisor of Elections Bill Cowles, who retired at the end of January.
The governor’s office said at least seven individuals applied for the appointment, but Gilzean said he was not one of them.
But, the appointment was a call Gilzean said he did not hesitate to answer.
“I think what they saw was this guy has a proven track record, he has an ability to build bridges and connect and serve the community at large, and my background being the former CEO of (Central Florida) Urban League and programs like Get Out the Vote makes sense,” Gilzean said.
The timing of Gilzean’s appointment comes just as Florida prepares for the Presidential Preference Primary Election, plus eight municipal elections.
After getting the call from the governor’s office, Gilzean, a Republican, said he first called his wife and then Cowles.
“I asked (Cowles) coming into this, what would you recommend me doing," Gilzean said. "He said, 'Go in and be a cheerleader for the staff and work with them and just know they have your back' ... that was beautiful because the next day I shared with all of the staff in a staff meeting I’ll be their biggest fan and cheerleader and together we can make this the best election cycle ever.”
Cowles told Spectrum News in January, days before his election he was leaving, confident the staff would be more than able and willing to support whoever came into the role. With more than 425 combined years of elections experience, Gilzean will need to lean on the existing staff at Orange County Supervisor of Elections office, as he technically will serve until the end of Cowles’ current term. An election will be held in November to elect a new supervisor.
Gilzean did not reject the possibility of considering filing for the ballot himself ahead of this summer’s filing deadline.
“My goal is to make sure I stay focused on the job, work with the staff, learn what the needs are so I can get the tools to ensure our elections are safe,” Gilzean said.
At the moment, Gilzean is splitting his focus and time between serving as Orange County Supervisor of Elections, and administrator of the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District, the state-controlled entity that functions as Walt Disney World’s special taxing district.
Gilzean has held numerous leadership positions in the past, including eight years as President and CEO of Central Florida Urban League. DeSantis appointed Gilzean to various other roles, including chair of the Florida Commission on Ethics.
In May 2023, the CFTOD Board, composed of gubernatorial appointees, hired Gilzean to serve as administrator of the district. It was for this job Gilzean was eventually forced to step down as Chair of the Commission on Ethics.
As administrator, Gilzean earns an annual salary of $400,000, but said he is now transitioning out of the role to take on the Supervisor of Elections job full time, which provides an annual salary of $205,000.
Gilzean’s employment agreement provides an allowance to resign with 30 days’ notice. Gilzean and a spokesman for the district said a transition and departure plan is in development.
“The goal is to have a very seamless transition. It’s not fair to the taxpayers in the District (for me) to be in two different areas at the same time,” Gilzean said. “I have been burning the midnight oil, as they would say, spending roughly seven or eight hours in one location, then seven or eight hours in another. But the goal is to work with the board and have a seamless transition and have them take it from there.”
Gilzean said he plans to fully leave the employment of CFTOD, a process that could take several weeks.
Spectrum News 13’s media partner, Orlando Sentinel, reports DeSantis has since recommended the CFTOD Board replace Gilzean with Stephanie Kopelousos, a top advisor who most recently served on the governor’s campaign for president.
With voters already casting ballots in the March primary elections, Gilzean has stepped into the role even as critics cast doubt on his appointment.
A group of Democratic lawmakers — including Rep. Maxwell Alejandro Frost, State Rep. Anna V. Eskamani, and Sen. Geraldine Thompson, among others — issued a joint statement on Gilzean’s selection.
“Ron DeSantis continue to abuse the power of his office to appoint his friends and allies to elected positions that they are not qualified for, all so he can control every part of our state and local governments and warp our democracy to his will,” the group said. “The elections this year are some of the most important facing our communities. We need someone elected by the people, someone who is going to be impartial and someone wholeheartedly on the side of democracy. Glen Gilzean is a Ron DeSantis loyalist who’s top priority seems to be making Ron DeSantis happy, not protecting the integrity of our elections. This move signals the Governor’s focus on silencing the voices of Central Florida voters as one of the most northern progressive hubs in our state. We cannot let this happen.”
Democrats have long outnumbered Republicans in Orange County. As of March 8, 2024:
Democrats: 323,585 (40.38%)
Republican: 211,763 (26.42%)
Other: 20,617 (2.57%)
NPA: 245,411 (30.62%)
Total: 801,376
(Source: Orange County Supervisor of Elections)
Responding to the criticism, Gilzean dismissed the notion he has any partisan agenda.
“Not at all. The goal here is to make sure everyone’s vote is counted," he said. "My goal is to bring transparency and to make sure that when you cast your ballot, you have full faith and confidence that your vote counts."
“I would tell them they have nothing to worry about because one of the things I’m going to do is just follow the law and, more importantly, this is a non-partisan role," he added. "It’s about giving voters confidence their votes will count and that’s exactly what I’m going to do to make sure every Orange County citizen, when they cast their ballot, they know it’s counted.”
Gilzean gave credit to Cowles tenure as supervisor of elections, saying he wants to build on that legacy, while also leaving his own mark.
“The way I see it, the public has an opportunity to come in and observe the process, and if there’s a crowd, then by law we have to have an overflow room and watch it on a monitor, closed circuit television," Gilzean said. "And my thesis is: Why can’t we post that or stream that live on social media or any kind of television broadcast and use that as a way? So in the comfort of your home, you can still observe the process."
No Labels votes to move forward with ticket
The No Labels political party is moving forward with a thirty-party presidential ticket, although it’s not yet known who will be on it.
The bipartisan, centrist group’s 800 delegates across 50 states held a virtual meeting Friday to discuss whether to move forward with assembling a ticket. According to No Labels National Convention Chair Mike Rawlings, the vote was nearly unanimous to proceed.
“Even though we met virtually, their emotion and desire to bring this divided nation back together came right through the screen,” Rawlings said in a statement. “I wasn't sure exactly where No Labels delegates would land today, but they sent an unequivocal message: Keep going.”
After last week’s Super Tuesday primaries and caucuses, the general election seems certain to be a rematch of Democratic President Joe Biden and Republican former President Donald Trump. A NewsNation/Decision Desk HQ poll in January found that about six in 10 registered voters were not enthusiastic about another showdown between the two men.
Some Democrats fear a No Party ticket could siphon votes from Biden and possibly deliver the election to Trump. But No Labels plans to introduce a "unity ticket" featuring a presidential candidate from one major party and a vice presidential candidate from the other.
Rawlings said No Labels will accelerate its candidate outreach and announce a nomination process by Thursday.
Former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley, a Republican; Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, I-Ariz.; Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., and former Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan, a Republican, have all ruled out running on the No Labels ticket.
No Labels National Director Joe Cunningham said last month the group has secured ballot access in 16 states and has “a pathway” to appear on the ballots of all 50 states and the District of Columbia.