Revelations grow on Joe Biden’s handling of classified documents; here’s what we know so far
found additional classified documents during a Friday search of the president’s personal residence in Delaware is stoking new scrutiny of Joe Biden’s handling of sensitive and in some cases classified information.
Attorneys for Biden stressed in statements on Saturday evening that the president is cooperating with the Department of Justice and special counsel investigation and said the search of his Wilmington, Delaware, residence was voluntary.
The FBI called it planned and consensual in a statement.
But the search, which the president’s legal team waited to disclose until a full day later, is generating new questions about White House transparency on the issue that Biden last week suggested is insignificant.
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at the Biden Penn Center last year, just prior to the midterm elections. Their existence was not made public by the White House. CBS reported on the documents in January, prompting a congressional inquiry.found six pages of classified material at his Wilmington residence. And at least six more documents were uncovered during a secondary search of Biden’s home that was conducted Friday by the DOJ. Biden attorney Bob Bauer says some handwritten notes from his vice presidential years were also taken into possession.More Biden documents found after DOJ searches his Delaware home
How is this different from Trump’s handling of classified documents?
A judge in Florida approved a warrant in early August in a similar investigation into the personal possession of classified documents involving former President Donald Trump. Judges only authorize such search warrants if the requesting authorities show reason to believe that either a crime had been committed there or that evidence of such a crime could be found there.
The Mar-a-Lago warrant authorized FBI agents—accompanied by a Justice Department prosecutor – to search Mar-a-Lago, Trump’s Palm Beach, Florida home and private club, and cart off dozens of boxes of documents. There was no warrant in the search of Biden’s residence last week.
The Mar-a-Lago search was conducted only after months of back and forth between Trump and the National Archives and Justice Department, which wanted him to return classified documents that he had indicated he had in his possession. Trump refused, saying he had personally declassified some if not all of them under his broad authorities as president, and that they were part of his personal papers.
Did the FBI raid Biden’s home?
No, the search was consensual, expected and coordinated between both parties. The Mar-a-Lago search also was not a raid, though it was conducted on the basis of a court-approved warrant.
Biden administration officials have sought to portray themselves as being much more proactive and cooperative than lawyers for Trump, voluntarily searching his residences and offices in recent weeks in an effort to turn up more potentially problematic documents. They have been accused, however, of not being transparent enough about the searches and what classified documents Biden had in his possession.
Biden and Trump documents expose wider problem: Missing classified records not uncommon
What does this mean for Joe Biden?
Democrats have been frustrated by the drip, drip, drip nature of the disclosures.
Although they do not see the situation, which is markedly different than the DOJ’s criminal investigation into Trump, as detrimental to Biden’s long-term reelection prospects, Democrats such as former House Intelligence Chairman Adam Schiff have supported the appointment of a special counsel to oversee the case.
Biden had been enjoying a bounce in his approval rating and was enjoying increased support from independent voters and non-voters as the document drama was brewing. New developments in the document scandal could cut into Biden’s support as he prepares to give his State of the Union address in early February and potentially announce a reelection bid.
Despite the president’s assertions that “there’s nothing there” and the “American people don’t quite understand” the continued focus on his documents, a Quinnipiac University poll found that 60% of Americans think he handled them inappropriately and two-thirds of Americans are following media coverage.
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