Who is Robert Hur, the special prosecutor overseeing the investigation into Biden's classified documents?

robert hur

(CNN) --

The Justice Department's investigation into classified documents found at the home and former private office of President Joe Biden will be overseen by Robert Hur, a former Maryland prosecutor who has a "long and distinguished record," he announced. this Thursday the Secretary of Justice, Merrick Garland.

In 2017, Hur was appointed federal prosecutor in Maryland by then-President Donald Trump, a position he served until his resignation in 2021. During that time, Hur played a key role in a number of high-profile cases, including the children's book scandal. that involved the then mayor of Baltimore, Catherine Pugh, which resulted in the official's sentence to three years in prison.

• A special prosecutor is appointed to investigate the handling of classified documents by Joe Biden

Most recently, he worked in the private sector in the city of Washington.

"Rob's been here long enough -- he knows what he's getting himself into," Rod Rosenstein, Trump's former deputy attorney general, for whom Hur worked for a time as a senior adviser, told CNN on Thursday.

"I think he understands the need to ignore politics and focus on what matters," Rosenstein added.

Robert Hur.

In announcing the appointment, Garland noted that Hur "oversaw some of the department's most important matters involving national security, public corruption and other high-profile matters."

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"I will make sure that Mr. Hur is given all the resources he needs to carry out his job," he said.

Hur vowed on Thursday to "carry out the assigned investigation with a fair and impartial trial."

"I intend to follow the facts quickly and thoroughly, without fear or favor, and I will honor the trust placed in me to carry out this job," he said in a statement.

Hur was also an Assistant US Attorney in Maryland before working as the Justice Department's first Assistant Attorney General.

Prior to joining the Department of Justice, Hur clerked as a law clerk for Chief Justice William Rehnquist and Federal Appeals Judge Alex Kozinski.

Hur was unanimously confirmed by the Senate for the U.S. attorney position in 2018, earning praise at the time from Maryland's two Democratic senators, who expressed confidence in his ability to handle critical issues facing the state.

Maryland Governor Larry Hogan, a Republican, praised the appointment Thursday.

"Former Maryland United States Attorney Rob Hur is a prosecutor of the highest caliber and integrity," Hogan said in a statement.

"I trust his ability to clarify the facts and hold power to account. In this country, no one is above the law."

Thursday's announcement came hours after the White House counsel's office said in a statement that Biden's advisers located documents with classified marks in two places inside his home in Wilmington, Delaware.

An initial batch of documents discovered when Biden's personal lawyers were going through files in his former private office in Washington contained 10 classified documents, including US intelligence material and information memos on Ukraine, Iran and the UK.

• Biden's legal team finds another set of documents ranked second

"A Nasty Job"

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.

Hur "was my contact person, and he would have biweekly meetings with Mueller's team and then he would update me on the progress of the special counsel's investigation into Russia," Rosenstein said.

"So he's seen that firsthand and he knows that it's necessary not to be swayed by politics, and to make decisions based on facts and the law and Justice Department policy, and I think we can count on Rob for that."

Added Rosenstein: "Rob, like many people I've worked with in the Justice Department, believes it's important to be committed to public service and has a sense of responsibility. So it's hard to say 'no' when someone asks you to do what you know is going to be a nasty job."

While serving as a senior adviser to Rosenstein, Hur also appeared at a Trump White House press conference in July 2017, touting the administration's efforts to crack down on the notorious MS-13 gang.

The podium appearance at the White House press briefing was unusual, as the Justice Department generally tries to keep its distance from the White House on matters that could be seen as political in nature.

-- Tierney Sneed contributed to this reporting.

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