WASHINGTON — The U.S. Justice Department released a lengthy report Thursday concluding that while President Joe Biden “willfully retained” classified materials following his time as vice president, he won’t be charged with a crime.
Special Counsel Robert K. Hur wrote in the 388-page report that prosecutors considered “that, at trial, 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.”
“Based on our direct interactions with and observations of him, he is someone for whom many jurors will want to identify reasonable doubt,” the report states. “It would be difficult to convince a jury that they should convict him — by then a former president well into his eighties — of a serious felony that requires a mental state of willfulness.”
“We conclude the evidence is not sufficient to convict, and we decline to recommend prosecution of Mr. Biden for his retention of the classified Afghanistan documents,” the report states.
It says, “Our investigation uncovered evidence that President Biden willfully retained and disclosed classified materials after his vice presidency when he was a private citizen.”
Biden in a press conference called Thursday night hit back at this characterization and others, including an assertion in the report he “did not remember, even within several years, when his son Beau died.”
“I know there’s some attention paid to some language in the report about my recollection of events,” Biden said. “There’s even reference that I don’t remember when my son died.”
“How in the hell dare he raise that,” he said, adding that he still wears his son Beau’s rosary, and said he “does not need anyone to remind me of when he passed away.”
While he took a few questions from the press about the report and about Israel, he was often combative.
“I’m well-meaning and I’m an elderly man, and I know what the hell I’m doing,” he said. “My memory is fine.”
One reporter asked the president why he was confusing the names of world leaders.
Biden, addressing the hostage negotiations between Israel and Hamas, noted that Israel’s response to Hamas in Gaza “has been over the top,” and argued that he helped negotiate allowing humanitarian aid through Egypt by talking with Egypt’s president, Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, to open those borders.
However, he instead referred to El-Sisi as the president of Mexico.
“Initially the president of Mexico, Sisi, did not want to open up the gate to allow humanitarian aid to get in, I talked to him, I convinced him to open the gate,” Biden said.
Executive privilege
Attorney General Merrick Garland wrote in a one-page letter to Congress that Biden “has decided not to assert executive privilege over any part of the report or its appendices.” The doctrine of executive privilege allows the president to withhold certain documents or information from the judicial or legislative branches.
The Hur report seeks to differentiate between the Biden investigation and another of former President Donald Trump’s handling of documents, which did lead to charges, saying there are “several material distinctions.”
“Unlike the evidence involving Mr. Biden, the allegations set forth in the indictment of Mr. Trump, if proven, would present serious aggravating facts,” the report says. “Most notably, after being given multiple chances to return classified documents and avoid prosecution, Mr. Trump allegedly did the opposite.”
The report adds that Trump allegedly “obstructed justice by enlisting others to destroy evidence and then to lie about it.”
“In contrast, Mr. Biden turned in classified documents to the National Archives and the Department of Justice, consented to the search of multiple locations including his homes, sat for a voluntary interview. and in other ways cooperated with the investigation,” the report added.
The announcement quickly provoked a reaction from Trump, who in a written statement released by his campaign said the two cases are significantly different and that he “did nothing wrong.”
Trump alleged there is a “two-tiered system of Justice” and called for the special counsel in his case to drop it immediately, saying it represents “election interference.”
Biden says he ‘threw up no roadblocks’
Biden said in a written statement that he 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.”
“This was an exhaustive investigation going back more than 40 years, even into the 1970s when I was a young Senator,” Biden said. “I cooperated completely, threw up no roadblocks, and sought no delays.”
Biden noted in his statement that he sat for five hours of interviews with the special counsel on Oct. 8 and 9, 2023, the two days following the terrorist attacks in Israel. He reiterated that at his press conference Thursday night.
While he was “in the middle of handling an international crisis,” Biden said that he “believed that’s what I owed the American people so they could know no charges would be brought and the matter closed.”
Garland announced Hur as the special counsel in January 2023; Trump had appointed Hur to lead the prosecutor’s office in Maryland in 2018. He left in 2021 to join the Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher law firm.
The announcement of the special counsel came after classified documents were found at the Penn Biden Center in Washington, D.C., on Nov. 2, 2022 and then in the garage at Biden’s home in Wilmington, Delaware, on Dec. 20, 2022 and Jan. 11 and Jan. 12, 2023.
The White House defended its decisions to delay revealing that information publicly in mid-January 2023 shortly after the special counsel was publicly appointed.
Ian Sams, White House spokesman for oversight and investigations, said at the time the administration understood “that there’s a tension between the need to be cooperative with an ongoing DOJ investigation, and rightful demands for additional public information.”
“And so we’re trying to strike that balance and being as clear as we can,” Sams said.
‘Mistakes when packing documents’
Special Counsel to the President Richard Sauber said in a written statement released Thursday that Biden cooperated with investigators and that the report acknowledges “mistakes when packing documents at the end of an Administration or when Members of Congress leave office are unfortunately a common occurrence.”
“Now that this investigation has concluded, President Biden plans to take new, substantive action to help prevent such mistakes in the future and will announce it soon,” Sauber said.
Bob Bauer, personal counsel to Biden, said in a written statement that the special counsel’s decision “rested on evidence compiled using millions of taxpayer dollars over a 15-month inquiry involving 173 interviews of 147 witnesses and more than 7 million documents.”
“He specifically noted that he would have reached the same conclusion even if the President were a private citizen and not the sitting president,” Bauer said.
“The Special Counsel also noted the President’s complete cooperation, including the President’s unprecedented decision to open up every room of his family home and beach house to comprehensive FBI searches as well as a voluntary interview conducted over two days.”
–Jennifer Schutt, States Newsroom, with Ariana Figueroa.
Jan says
Hur was appointed by Trump.
Source: U.S. News and World Report: https://www.usnews.com/news/top-news/articles/2024-02-08/who-is-robert-hur-special-counsel-on-biden-classified-document-probe
James says
Trump did not appoint Hur to investigate Biden. Attorney General Merrick Garland appointed Robert Hur as the special counsel handling the investigation in January of 2023. Biden selected Garland for the position of United States attorney general.
Source: US Department of Justice: https://www.justice.gov/opa/speech/attorney-general-merrick-b-garland-delivers-remarks-appointment-special-counsel-0
Tim says
Irregardless, Biden is losing it and his only defense is an offensive. And he embarrasses himself in the process. Trump has better policies but he needs to be sent to culture school. Everyone needs to be treated with respect.
Flapharmtech says
Biden is the sane and only choice. His warts are far less visible than the orange guy’s, which are grotesque and inflammatory. Buhbye, orange guy; please report to Morality Training 101.
P.S. Irregardless ain’t a word.
jake says
Is irregardless a word? Yes. It may not be a word that you like, or a word that you would use in a term paper, but irregardless certainly is a word. It has been in use for well over 200 years, employed by a large number of people across a wide geographic range and with a consistent meaning.
Google is your friend.
Robert Joseph Fortier says
Actually, it is a word.
Deborah Coffey says
Thank you…saved me from writing a response.
Samuel L. Bronkowitz says
Picking the lesser of two evils moves the average for evil towards “more evil.” That’s why, with Biden, you’re getting pro-business, pro-billionaire rhetoric. He’s a reagan-era republican.
TR says
No such word as irregardless, just saying.
Pierre Tristam says
The complaint about “irregardless” is similar to those who, from time to time, complain that we use the word “democracy” to describe the US, as opposed to “republic.” The complaint is as accurate as it is pedantic, and in irregardless’ case, it’s not all that accurate: even the OED recognizes the word, with a full entry, defining it as “In nonstandard or humorous use: regardless.” The Literary Digest, a journal, as far back as 1912 was asking: “Is there such a word as irregardless in the English language?” The endurance of the question alone answers is. Irregardless: it’s usage, people‘s usage, not non-existent word wardens, let alone grammar marms or the local school district, who ultimately decide what is and what isn’t a word. That’s how most of our own words have come to be, including every word I’m using in this comment. It’s all been an evolution: no creationism here. A rich, democratic, boundless evolution that gives us the great wealth of our language. I mean, where would Joe Pesci be without irregardless? The word made his career. So please: leave Tim alone.
TR says
Thanks for your comment.
But why you defending Tim? I have never seen you ask someone to leave another commenter alone. I always said (and will continue) irregardless isn’t a word. In fact even when I type it in in this comment, the auto correct feature underlines it as being incorrect. I guess I can add the word to the list of things like politics and religion that can never be agreed on 100%.
Laurel says
I can’t argue with that, but, to me personally, “grow-shries,” spelled groceries, is not a word, and I wish people would not say it that way at all. “I’m going to the grow-shree store” is like fingernails on a blackboard. Here’s a non-word for that: aaaaggghhhhh!
TR says
I agree. I guess pronunciation teaching in schools went out the window along with cursive. years later we have a young society that can’t talk or write correctly.
Laurel says
TR: How about “When in the Care -ah-beeeee-an, I ate conshh chowder”? Instead of “When in the Care-rib-be-an, I ate conk chowder”? Technically, both ways these two words are pronounced correctly, only because people have so mispronounced words over the years, that the pronunciation becomes legitimate.
Wait, what was the topic again?
John Morenp says
I at 76 maybe even before can’t remember the years my daughters were born . I can figure it out but I need time. And I truly don’t remember the date and times of my parents passing although I can guess within a few years. Truth is life goes on and while some things are not remembered on command I know the important stuff that keeps me and my wife and family in good stead.And I know given the two frontrunners will get my vote flaws and all.
John Moreno says
and come on, 40 years versus 4. Plus opening up all rooms and areas and not holding back. Quite the difference/
Samuel L. Bronkowitz says
Interesting. If you actually read the document, you’ll discover gems like how Biden couldn’t remember when he was vice president, forgot when his term ended, and when his son Beau died. Looks like the dems finally got their Ronald Reagan.
Deborah Coffey says
All according to the Trumpian liar, Hur. From Trump University lawsuit (NBC): “I don’t remember,” Trump told lawyers 35 times during his December testimony, which was released on Wednesday.
Samuel L. Bronkowitz says
Good comparison, Trump might have dementia too
Flapharmtech says
Biden is the sane and only choice. His warts are far less visible than the orange guy’s, which are grotesque and inflammatory. Buhbye, orange guy; please report to Morality Training 101.
Enough says
Just more political BS from the Repubs trying to take attention away from the disaster that Trump is. But because the Repub base is ignorant, the politicos sense they can get away with anything and it will be believed. Funny that they don’t want to remind us of a guy who used a magic marker to change the course of a hurricane!! How he literally wanted his own VP dead because the VP would not break the law for him. Funny they don’t mention he’s a traitor to the country. How many indictments? 91?? Not to mention Trump has no idea how to spell, or even make a complete sentence.
I love the commercial when an embezzler like Rick Scott criticizes anyone!! Here’s a loser who stole 3 billion dollars from Medicare when he ran Columbia Healthcare years back. Pled the 5th 75 times!! I guess he wants us to forgot this; Rubio, taking bribes from the NRA (another fine outstanding citizen).
Smarten up!! The Repub Party has become a horror show; They want Power and Money; they don’t give a damn about the people except when their name appears on a ballot. Then, all of a sudden, they come out from under their rock and tell us how many so called accomplishments they performed!! What a Crock!!
marlee says
Bottom line! Values count ! Biden was transparent with the top secret files…..
FACT: “Trump obstructed efforts by the National Archives and law enforcement to recover hundreds of government documents by deliberately hiding them, lying about their whereabouts, and enlisting others to destroy and conceal evidence and repeatedly showed them off to guests.”
Pat says
Glad the Special Counsel brought it up. It’s on people’s minds and now the Democrats have to address it.
DaleL says
It is a valid issue. However, as long as the Republican candidate is citizen Trump, it is an issue for both parties.
I support our police and military. I do not think that a person who insults and demeans veterans is fit to be the commander and chief. Republicans have to realize that citizen Trump deserves to be in jail, not the White House.
The surest way to get Biden off the ballot is to get citizen Trump off the ballot. A Wisconsin poll, reported on 2/7/2024, found that Haley would beat Biden by 15 points.
jake says
Biden, worse President ever.
Laurel says
Isn’t it fun when you can pretend you’re a liberal, and pretend you are not bigoted, yet trash a whole segment of the population (seniors) and your liberal, non-bigoted friends go along with it happily? High five it. Yeah, and the conservatives are not bigoted either. They’ll tell you so, over and over.
Samuel L. Bronkowitz says
I can understand the frustration. I have two kids and I’m left to ask the following question: what future will they have?
In 2022, the projected average cost for a 4 year degree with room and board was about $146,000. When I first attended college the average was $26,000 for a 4 year degree. Taking inflation into account, my $26,000 would be able $58,000 today, but a degree is close to 3 times that. Why? Policies enacted by the older generation.
How much to houses cost? When I left high school, a house cost on average about $123,000. The average home cost last year at the last quarter was almost $500,000. Why? Policies enacted by the older generation.
The environment is wrecked and this government is falling solidly to fascism. Why? You guessed it.
Now certainly you can’t stick every boomer into the same box. You can, however, question why things are the way they are, and why it’s apparently ok to have an entire generation of geriatrics run the government when half of them would have a hard time drawing a clock properly, and comments areas filled with vote blue nonsense. People voted blue last election and Nothing. Changed.
Laurel says
Samuel: Again, people seem to disregard many of us who fought for a better environment, less corporate takeover, rising prices, racism and fascism.
So, today’s middle aged and youth are helpless? They don’t use gas, oil or plastics? They don’t have a carbon footprint? They don’t vote? They don’t write their Congress men and women? They don’t have any bigoted groups (like Skinheads, Neo-Nazis, Oath Keepers)? They are all just victims of past generations?
Sounds wishy-washy to me.
It’s just soooooo easy to blame someone else, isn’t it?
Samuel L. Bronkowitz says
It’s interesting to see how far removed the boomer generation is from millennials and zoomers. Maybe this would be different if boomers spent some time in deep thought regarding the reality of what making ends meet looks like today, and why. That requires critical thinking though and I’m not sure the boomer generation is up to it.
Laurel says
More prejudice from someone who believes he is endowed with superior critical thinking. It may come as a surprise to you, Samuel, but the older generation is still busy “…making ends meet…” but do enjoy the pity party.
Samuel L. Bronkowitz says
Why exactly is that, Laurel?.why are you struggling to make ends meet?
Laurel says
Nope, not me. The reason being is we planned, very carefully, and kept focus on our planning. Our first homes were starter homes, you know, 2B/1B, and no pool. It’s best to buy a crappy home in a good neighborhood than a good home in a crappy neighborhood.
There were only two things I bought that I couldn’t pay cash for: a house, and a car. I paid them off as soon as I could. I haggled percentage rates. Two of my cars were comical, and definitely not cool.
But there are those seniors who are struggling, for whatever reason. Maybe it was for medical bills, or just bad decisions, who knows, and they require SSI in order to survive.
One of the most disgusting things to me is the repeated Republican desire to remove Meals on Wheels. There is no conscience there.
Sherry says
@sb. . . What needs to be the “primary” factor in the analysis of inflated prices that we, by choice, are a “capitalistic” society. Our government does NOT directly control the price of consumer goods. Maximizing profits is the goal of the vast majority of all businesses, large and small. No President directly controls the price of your groceries!
Nephew Of Uncle Sam says
#45 mixes up Nancy Pelosi and Nikki Haley, thinks he ran against President Obama, 91 times indicted, liable for rape etc….. and his supporters still think he’s their holy man.
Bill C says
Biden should stop denying he is aging. He should say something like “Yes, I’m not the man I was 25 years ago. Now I listen more and talk less and have more wisdom now than I did when I was younger.”
Land of no turn signals says says
Then Hunter has dementia also.No gun No drugs No hooker.
Sherry says
AGAIN. . . Hunter is NOT running for office! Geeeeez!
JimboXYZ says
This is one of those soft on Biden stances yet again. So Biden is a sympathetic & well-meaning elderly individual, forgetful at times ? Yet HRC was court ordered to turn over a server with hard drives that her team scrubbed. Trump has boxes of documents, of which 100 were relatively classified. There’s no possibility that,
“Mistakes when packing documents”
Add that there is a subjective interpretation of Trump not cooperating ? Remind me again of when Biden’s home/garage & office at the university were stormed & raided again. Every elected office Biden has vacated had boxes of sensitive, even classified documents, including being the named VPOTUS that had to be elected with Obama. Would be interesting to know what Obama has in his Martha’s Vineyard estate ? Going back further politically, the Bush & Clinton stockpile of boxes. Perhaps all of those estates need to be, at the very least, searched, if not outright stormed & raided ? Just depends upon what one’s perspective of the operation.
DaleL says
There is nothing subjective about citizen Trump not cooperating. May 2021, the National Archives asked for the return of all presidential records. Eight months later, January 2022, trumps aides returned 15 boxes. The FBI in March 2022 opened an investigation into un-returned presidential records. A grand jury in May 2022 issued a subpoena that required Trump to return all classified documents. In August, the FBI searched Mar-a-Lago and found 11 more sets of documents. The photo of boxes and boxes in an unsecured bathroom has been widely available for viewing. Trump is accused of ordered the moving and hiding of documents.
This is why he has been charged with 37 felony counts related to the classified documents. Some of the felony counts have maximum penalties of up to 20 years in prison.
Sherry says
Thanks for posting “credible facts” Dale L.! Unfortunately, cult members care nothing for factual truth. . . they only listen to the talking heads spouting BS at FOX.
Concerned Citizen says
Origin:Dictionary
Definitions from Oxford Languages · Learn more
ir·re·gard·less
/ˌirəˈɡärdləs/
adverbnon-standard
adverb: irregardless
regardless.
“the photographer always says, irregardless of how his subjects are feeling, “Smile!””
Origin:mid 19th century: probably a blend of irrespective and regardless.
Laurel says
Concerned: Yeah, but it’s pretty redundant.
Ray W. says
39 comments thus far. None address the science of aging and its effect on memory.
According to one paper published by the National Institute of Health, memory can be divided into four categories. Two of those categories are affected by aging to a comparatively lesser degree. One category of memory shows signs of age-related decline beginning in one’s forties. The fourth category shows slight decline to about the age of 70, then a more rapid decline.
The four categories?
1. Episodic memory, which is thought to begin its decline in middle age. Episodic memory involves events such as what we were doing when President Kennedy was assassinated. In my instance, I was in Mrs. Kennerly’s first-grade classroom at Lennox Elementary when an announcement occurred that the president had been shot. My mother soon arrived to take me home; she told me as she was crying that our president was dead. Other types of episodic memory range from the birth of a child, a first school day at a new school, such as high school, or a wedding.
2. Semantic memory, which is thought to begin to decline relatively late in life. An example of semantic memory is that the Beatles recorded “Yesterday.” What one was doing when one first heard “Yesterday” would be episodic. Who recorded it is semantic.
3. Procedural memory is thought to retain its resiliency regardless of age.
4. Working memory, like procedural memory, is thought to retain its resiliency regardless of age.
According to the NIH paper, and other NIH papers that I reviewed, the causative change in brain matter that affected both episodic and semantic memory is shrinkage of both gray and white matter in various regions of the brain. Again, the shrinkage can be seen in brain scans from middle age onward. Shrinkage accelerates over time, particularly when one passes the age of 70. The most affected brain region, re: memory, is the prefrontal cortex. The second most widely affected brain region is the striatum.
Trauma to one or more regions of the brain can also affect memory. Many brain traumas are the result of vascular-related disorders.
Both chronic and acute stressors can significantly impact memory, either short-term, or episodic and semantic memory. From a different NIH paper, I quote the authors:
“Whereas moderate stress experienced during learning can facilitate information storage, experiencing excessive stress acutely or sever stress chronically can be highly detrimental to memory function.”
In the conclusion of that paper, the authors write:
“In all instances, the deleterious effects of stress and aging seem to particularly impair hippocampus- and prefrontal cortex-dependent memory processes.”
From my own life experiences, during one of my first trial experiences, I helped my father defend a man in a large and complex federal trial. I was in the summer after my second year of law school. The Detroit Tigers were well on their way to a 35-5 start to their World Series winning year. The trial involved 13 defense attorneys and 11 defendants. It encompassed years of testimony about the distribution of multiple tons of cannabis and large quantities of cocaine. The government had seized accounting records of the ringleaders of the RICO and flipped the bookkeeper. At the close of the government’s multi-week case, a defense attorney raised the “fatal variance” defense during his standard motion for judgment of acquittal. The trial judge had a stack of legal pads. He could peruse the testimony of each witness from his trial notes, word for word. I watched and listened as the trial judge answered each argument with a verbatim account of the testimony. It was obvious to me that the judge either had developed his own form of shorthand or he was familiar with the use secretarial shorthand, which was a commonly taught skill at technical schools of the day. Indeed, I have heard a story of a local lawyer who took a shorthand course just after he graduated from law school. That lawyer then took the same course a second time. After watching the trial judge, I developed a personal form of shorthand, largely based on symbols and contractions. I was fastidious in my notetaking while speaking with lawyers on the telephone and while in court. I could go back to my file and repeat nearly verbatim telephone conversations and courtroom negotiations. I developed a filing system based on my own life experiences. I am told that the young lawyer who took over some of my murder cases when I retired completely revamped his filing system to match mine. I could find anything in my files within seconds because I never deviated from my system of filing. But, in my last death penalty trial, despite my best efforts, I missed the recall of one statement by one witness, even though I had highlighted it in my trial preparations. It was a four- or five-year-old statement from a deposition. I didn’t ask the particular question in the deposition, but that is no excuse. I missed it when I needed it. That greatly unsettled me about three or four days later when I went through my notes of each witness’s testimony prior to closing arguments, because I remembered then what I had missed as I prepared my summary. While I have never had a perfect trial, I seldom missed a prior statement as badly as I missed this one.
Since I have spent a large portion of my professional life dealing with memory or the lack thereof. since I attended seminars that included presentations on theories of memory, since I have hired witnesses to evaluate the memory or lack thereof of my clients, since I have deposed and cross-examined others on the subject of memory retention, I have to consider the possibility that although I am not an expert in the field, I have more than a smattering of knowledge on the effects of aging on memory.
I have on more than one occasion commented about Anna Pehota’s case. She was convicted of shooting her husband four times, including once in the back. From her 911 call, to her statements on the scene to responding deputies, to her statements to the investigating detectives, to her comments at First Appearances, to her comments during Arraignment and subsequent court proceedings, I formed the possible conclusion that she was in some form of significant cognitive decline akin to dementia or some other brain trauma-related deficit. I hired a neuropsychologist who specialized in evaluations of the elderly; she was to use age-appropriate evaluative tools to assess Mrs. Pehota’s current brain condition. The report came back as a normally functioning brain. I called my expert to discuss this. She summarized her report very simply: “Ray, she has a 77-year-old brain; it isn’t an 18-year-old brain.” My expert went on to state that my client presented with a decline in brain function, but that Mrs. Pehota tested within normal limits for a person of her age.
If the NIH reports are a true reflection on the science of aging of the brain and its effect on memory, all of us begin to experience a measurable decline in brain function that can impact one or more forms of memory due to aging, starting from middle age, a decline that begins to rapidly accelerate when we enter our seventies. We can adapt. We can rely on experience. We can develop coping mechanisms. We can rely on the expertise of others. We can bluff our way through it. But the decline is real, and it is significant. Yes, we all begin to suffer from CRS disease. Both of our leading presidential candidates are presenting, repeatedly, with significant declines in brain function at it relates to memory. The pestilential among us see only the decline in the opposition candidate. They refuse to acknowledge the deficits presented by their preferred candidate. They are wrong. It would be extremely unwise to listen to the pestilential among us on this subject matter.
Laurel says
Ray W. I do not counter your information, however, the situation here is one of our Presidential candidates is reasonable, and adheres to normal American values, while the other wants to be an authoritarian “strong man” for personal desires, whose ego makes his sanity questionable and will ship us down the river without blinking an eye. That is the issue.
Yes, decline is inevitable. I remember, years ago, when I forgot an AutoCad command “ddchprop.” I sat there, pissed off, for probably a good five minutes before it came to me, this command I’ve used a thousand times before. I have not forgotten it since.
My argument is this decline is different in different people, some living to over 100 years of age. Yet a young person can have brain damage, maybe by accident. I’ve known two young people who were in separate car accidents, and their personalities changed. Because people are different, we should not be lumped together. That’s today’s acceptable prejudice.
John Moreno says
Impressive and yes I as a 76 yr old chemo damaged father husband and grandfather d not remember the exact years my children were born nor when my parents passed. I eventually figure it out but it was 40 yrs ago. Does that lack of remembering make me any less able to make decisions based on fact and reason. NO. When I listen to folks who make supposed factual statements I do my best to check it out. I guess even at 76 I am intellectually inquisitive . So I say look at the person listen to what they say and judge their statements using reason and logic. Those who rely on bombast, degradation ,belittling and falsehoods should be shunned no matter how old. Younger adults need to respect experience and accomplishments plus how we as boomers provided for our children however you characterize them.