Biden needs to come clean on classified documents | Editorial
Unlike Trump, who refused to return classified documents, the president has cooperated with the investigation. But Biden should explain how the documents ended up in his possession.
The classified documents investigation swirling around President Joe Biden differs from the scandal that has ensnared Donald Trump. Regardless, Biden’s handling of the issue has been an unmitigated disaster just the same.
Unlike Trump, Biden at least hasn’t made any outlandish claims that he can declassify documents just by “thinking about it.” The president also didn’t act like a spoiled child by claiming the documents are “mine” — as Trump did.
Even so, Biden needs to explain to the American people how the documents, most of which date back to his time as vice president, ended up in his possession. If there is no security risk, he should also declassify them and show the public there was no danger of the information ending up in the wrong hands.
This would help restore trust and underline the differences between both cases — of which there are many.
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First off, Biden appears to be cooperating in the search, at least more so than his predecessor, who even after returning some documents continued to withhold boxes of classified material.
Trump’s obstinance dragged on for more than a year and a half after leaving office. Eventually, prosecutors were forced to get a search warrant to retrieve 33 boxes of material belonging to the federal government from Trump’s country club and residence.
To get the search warrant approved by a federal judge, prosecutors had to show probable cause that evidence of a crime had been committed at Mar-a-Lago. That is a high legal bar, especially when the search involves a former president.
But even after the government followed the proper legal channels, Trump claimed his property had been “raided.” Trump and his allies then attacked the FBI and the Justice Department, stoking anger among his supporters.
Sen. Lindsey Graham, (R., S.C.) recklessly warned about riots in the streets if Trump was prosecuted, while House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R., Calif.) irresponsibly threatened U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland.
Trump had roughly 300 documents with classified markings, including some marked top secret. Among the material reportedly found at Mar-a-Lago was a document describing a foreign government’s military defenses, including its nuclear capabilities.
None of that, however, excuses Biden’s own mishandling of classified documents, or his bumbling as more documents keep turning up.
Perhaps the most unsettling aspect of the president’s case so far is that some of the classified documents were discovered on Nov. 2 — six days before Election Day.
No doubt Republicans and their propaganda partners at Fox News — with visions of Hillary Clinton’s emails dancing in their heads — would have used that news to tar and feather every Democrat running for office. A troubling scenario in a close election.
Still, Biden’s delay in disclosing the information is slimy.
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It is also disturbing how the information surrounding Biden’s handling of the documents has trickled out. First “a small number of documents” were found in a closet at the Penn Biden Center for Diplomacy and Global Engagement, a think tank in Washington affiliated with the University of Pennsylvania where Biden maintained an office after leaving the vice presidency in 2017.
Then another batch of documents was found in an office and storage space in the garage at Biden’s home in Wilmington. Six more classified items were found over the weekend after a 13-hour FBI search. Is there more to come? Has anyone checked the trunk of Biden’s Corvette?
The president does not appear to be in any legal trouble, especially since he disclosed the documents and turned them over. Experts have long argued that American officials overclassify too much information that does not need to be secret, but the attorney general did the right thing in appointing a special prosecutor to investigate Biden’s handling of classified information — just as he did with Trump.
While all the facts are not yet known, Trump’s case appears much more serious. The mountain of documents found in his possession, along with Trump’s possible obstruction and hiding of classified documents, adds to his legal peril.
Yet the president’s possession of classified information complicates the Trump investigation. Could Biden’s bungling help Trump get another free pass? The law should not work that way.
That possibility is all the more reason why Biden must come clean and try to put the investigation behind him as soon as possible.