Spencer covered the rambunctious presser Joe Biden held last night. In a word, it was a disaster. The president opted to address the nation after the report from Special Counsel Robert Hur was released concerning his investigation into Joe Biden’s mishandling of classified information. It was Hillary Clinton 2.0: Biden willfully retained documents he shouldn’t have and didn’t store them properly, but he’s too old and senile to be charged. The portions about his memory being severely degraded were the part Biden’s team feared ahead of the 2024 election. It worked.
That was the story of the day: Biden was exonerated, but he’s mentally a vegetable. How can a man be too senile to be criminally charged but fine to run the country? It makes no sense. So, I know some rightfully wondered who thought this presser was a good idea. The truth is Biden had no choice. The Mr. Magoo narrative needed to be tackled head-on; the problem was that Joe Biden fumbled miserably.
Even CNN asked if he should resign to allow a better Democrat—one that could pass the mental health test—to run instead.
Yet, amid the rancor, Biden told a major lie about the special counsel report involving his ghostwriter. He claims he never disclosed classified information to Mark Zwonitzer, except that he did. He should have been charged with obstruction because Zwonitzer destroyed audio tapes when he learned this information was the subject of a federal investigation (via AP):
HOLY SH!T
— End Wokeness (@EndWokeness) February 8, 2024
Biden ghostwriter Mark Zwonitzer deleted Joe Biden's audio files after learning about the special counsel probe.
Zwonitzer wrote wrote extensively about the Biden family and their work in Ukraine and might've accessed (classified?) records.
The Biden DOJ is not… pic.twitter.com/pA0il8VpYJ
Biden just angrily denied that he shared classified material with his ghostwriter (also claiming the Special Counsel “did not say” that he did) & asserted none of the materials he improperly retained were “high classified.”
— Guy Benson (@guypbenson) February 9, 2024
This is page 3 of the Special Counsel’s report: pic.twitter.com/CEwaWNY51X
President Joe Biden worked so closely with the ghostwriter with whom he is accused of sharing classified secrets that he once declared that he’d trust the author with his life.
Mark Zwonitzer worked with Biden on two memoirs, 2007’s “Promises to Keep” and “Promise Me, Dad,” which was published 10 years later. According to a report released Thursday by special counsel Robert Hur, Biden was sloppy in his handling of classified material found at his home and former office, and shared classified information contained in some of them with Zwonitzer while the two were working on the Biden’s second book.
Hur’s report says no criminal charges are warranted against Biden. It says his office considered charging Zwonitzer with obstruction of justice because the ghostwriter destroyed recordings of interviews he conducted with Biden while they worked on his second memoir together once he learned of the documents investigation. But Hur also said Zwonitzer offered “plausible, innocent reasons” for having done so and cooperated with investigators subsequently, meaning the evidence against him was likely “insufficient to obtain a conviction.”
Biden's disclosure of that information, which was in the form of national security files and detailed war plans, was caught on those tapes.
CNN: Biden's statements about his classified documents scandal are "completely the opposite of what" the special counsel found.
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) February 9, 2024
"It was willful. He knew. He talked about it!" pic.twitter.com/9JBLJaJFLZ
CNN's Elie Honig on Biden's denial he shared classified documents with his ghostwriter:
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) February 9, 2024
"He's ON TAPE — after he's out of the vice presidency — saying to his autobiographer, 'the classified documents are in the basement.' He knew it!" pic.twitter.com/pft2PbQ9oC
Elie Honig, a former prosecutor, probably had the best take on this matter, which is a rare win for CNN. The legal analyst admitted that after reading all the evidence, Biden came within inches of being charged. His mishandling of sensitive documents was different, but still a serious breach. He also highlighted the two areas where Biden engaged in some fiction of his own last night. Honig also said cooperation with the feds shouldn’t give you a pass, either.
Why am I not as upset over the lack of charges for Biden? First, I knew they were never coming. Second, this is more damaging to Biden than anything else—the aging sitting Democratic incumbent president wracked with memory lapses. That’s a broadside to his 2024 campaign, and it’s not a silly question to ask whether there will be debates this year.
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