A lot has changed since Washington last heard from Robert Hur, the former special counsel assigned to investigate Joe Biden’s retention of classified documents.
It was last winter when Hur submitted his report concluding then-President Biden should not be charged with any crimes related to the discovery of classified materials in his post-vice presidency homes and office. But Hur’s characterization of how a jury would perceive Biden — “as a sympathetic, well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory” — sparked outrage among Democrats. Four months later, during his only 2024 debate with Donald Trump, Biden’s disastrous performance appeared to vindicate Hur’s conclusions. Hur has made no public comments on the debate and has generally maintained a low profile since receiving a bipartisan tongue lashing from the House Judiciary Committee after the release of his report.
But now, many liberals and Biden allies find Hur fighting a new battle that puts them on the same side. This week, Hur reemerged as one of two high-profile Republican lawyers representing Harvard University in its confrontation with the Trump administration over federal funding.
Former Biden officials granted anonymity to speak candidly expressed support for Hur’s representation of Harvard, but they still have mixed feelings about his treatment of Biden.
“It’s good for anyone to push back on Trump abusing power and violating constitutional rights,” a former Biden administration aide said. “His treatment of Biden was wrong, but disagreeing about that doesn’t mean you have to oppose everything he does.”
Two former Biden administration officials, who had no issues with Hur going to work for Harvard, noted that the former special counsel’s description of Biden, however controversial at the time given the political context, holds up. “He was just being honest,” one of the former officials said.
Harvard’s selection of Hur is savvy, observers say. Hur’s co-counsel, William Burck, also has close ties to the White House and currently serves as the Trump Organization’s outside ethics adviser.
“I think it’s very smart to use the lawyer every Republican praised a year ago,” one former Biden White House official said. “The administration’s actions are blatantly illegal and I’m glad Hur has taken the case.”
Still, some former Biden officials harbor stronger feelings about Hur: “If anyone knows how to advance a political agenda as part of a legal proceeding, we know he does,” said another former Biden official.
Hur, Burck and Harvard did not respond to requests for comment.
Harvard is set to lose more than $2 billion in federal grants after it refused to abide by a set of demands from the administration’s Joint Task Force to Combat Anti-Semitism that required the university to overhaul hiring and admissions practices to eliminate the use of race and ensure “viewpoint diversity” across staff and the student body. The administration also demanded Harvard report foreign students who commit conduct violations to the Departments of State and Homeland Security in order to receive federal funding. On Tuesday, Trump publicly mused about stripping Harvard of its tax-exempt status.
“The university will not surrender its independence or relinquish its constitutional rights,” Hur and Burck wrote in a letter responding to the task force. “Neither Harvard nor any other private university can allow itself to be taken over by the federal government.”
Harvard is the first major university to resist Trump’s pressure campaign against higher education, and taking on the case potentially places Hur in the crosshairs of a president under whom he previously served. During Trump’s first term, Hur was a high-ranking Justice Department official and the U.S. Attorney for Maryland. During his stint in the first Trump Justice Department, Hur appeared at a White House press briefing with now-border czar Tom Homan to discuss law enforcement efforts against gangs like MS-13.
Former colleagues praise Hur’s abilities and reputation as a straight-shooter. While his highest-ranking DOJ posts were in the Trump administration, Hur’s career as a federal prosecutor spanned Democratic and Republican presidencies and he believes the profession should be apolitical, they say. Biden’s attorney general, Merrick Garland, appointed Hur as special counsel to investigate the Democratic president’s handling of classified materials.
“He’s an extraordinary lawyer,” said one former Justice Department colleague, who noted that for a time Hur occupied the coveted position of principal associate deputy attorney general — often seen as the central point of coordination for the entire agency. “He had management responsibility for the whole department, so he had a substantial portfolio,” recalled the Hur associate, who was granted anonymity in order to discuss sensitive personnel matters.
Now an attorney at King & Spalding, Hur’s practice is focused primarily on representing clients facing government investigations. Colleagues said they were not aware of him representing colleges and universities in the past.
However, Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan appointed Hur to the University of Maryland Board of Regents in 2021. Hur’s firm bio includes “higher education” as one of his “capabilities.”
Hur also has a personal connection to the Harvard case. Hur — and his co-counsel Burck — are both graduates of Harvard College.
Since reentering office, Trump has stepped up efforts to punish lawyers who represent parties opposed to his interests. In March, Trump signed an executive order directing Attorney General Pam Bondi to seek sanctions against any lawyer who engages in “frivolous, unreasonable, and vexatious litigation against the United States or in matters before executive departments and agencies of the United States.”
Josh Gerstein and Eli Stokols contributed to this report.