We’ve been watching the Joe Biden classified document scandal devolve into a weeks-long political trainwreck, with ongoing developments about more documents being found at more locations. It’s compounded by a White House press and communications team incapable of managing the crisis. Karine Grey Poupon is beyond worthless in her current position, but as we learn that the National Archives was “ordered” to keep Biden’s classified document circus under wraps, law professor Jonathan Turley zeroes in on what’s truly different about Biden and Trump’s issues regarding sensitive materials.
Turley had an opinion piece in the New York Post about how the Department of Justice’s handling of the Biden classified documents investigation is bungled to hell and wonders whether there is a sense of urgency regarding securing these files. Biden’s private lawyers are being entrusted with being forthright about the re-possession of their client’s classified materials, which doesn’t negate the recklessness here. There are troves of documents at the University of Delaware that still need to be reviewed. I’m going to bet heavily that some have classified markings.
I stand corrected on one part: Biden could have declassified these files he took, but he also said he never took anything. Trump admitted he took files that were declassified, yet federal agents ransacked the home. Where was the raid on Biden’s properties? That’s one of the key differences here. Biden said he was surprised that all these sensitive materials were found all over the place after lecturing Trump and the country about how he holds guardian of the universe status when it comes to safeguarding state secrets [emphasis mine]:
It is also not clear how the FBI conducted these searches. Reports recently indicated that Biden included classified information in notebooks that were seized in earlier searches. If true, that is a nightmare for investigators because it would require agents to do more than simply look for classified documents with markings at the beginning of paragraphs and tops of pages. They would have to actually read material to determine if Biden incorporated classified material.
In fairness to the FBI, the same hands-off approach was initially used with former President Donald Trump as the FBI allowed for material to be collected and stored with additional security at Mar-a-Lago.
There are two differences. First, Trump never denied having such material. He insisted that he was allowed to have the files because he considered them unclassified. Second, while the Trump team insists that the FBI was given access to the documents, Trump resisted efforts to turn over all of the documents. Indeed, the FBI has raised a pattern of obstruction and false statements.
With Biden, the FBI did not know where documents might be located. The findings overlap with residential and office space used by Biden over the years. Moreover, it was reportedly told that it could search and seize any documents. It did not use that opportunity to search all of these locations, even after counsel erroneously stated that no more classified material was present at these locations.
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They never went back–I'm shocked (sarc.)
Look, I’ll take a draw here, though Biden stepped in a bear trap when he gave the impression that he never took classified materials home with him. He left them in unsecured locations, and we still don’t know who glanced at them or had access to the multiple locations where they were improperly stored. Trump had all the files at Mar-a-Lago under Secret Service protection and handled by staffers with the proper security clearances.
The FBI raided Trump but is dragging their feet with Biden, creating a chaotic chain of custody concerning the re-possessed files grandpa left out in the open. Also, the fact that the FBI doesn’t know where the documents are should at least spark a fire at the DOJ to blitzkrieg the effort to recover as much as possible on a speedy timeline, right? They don’t care because Biden is a Democrat, which isn’t a shocking development from a corrupt agency that's become the Left’s Gestapo force.
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