What You Need to Know About Biden’s Documents Caper

We are still discovering the ahref=”https://thespectator.com/topic/its-different-when-biden-gets-caught-with-classified-docs/”>documents discovered in Joe Biden’s office at the University of Pennsylvania contain and how highly they were classified, so we don’t yet know how dangerous the violation was. There are things to remember as the story unfolds.

1. Biden’s lawyers did him a huge favor by instructing him not to ask about the documents

It’s the last stand of “don’t ask, don’t tell.” Still, the tabloids used to say,“Inquiring minds want to know.” We are particularly interested in knowing how sensitive the material is (overclassification can be a problem for Washington) as well as where the documents were stored between the time Biden was elected vice president and the time of the election. Penn Biden Center opened.

2. Biden could pay a political price for not speaking out about the incorrectly obtained documents

However, this price will be significantly reduced by the “neutral” press doesn’t want to hurt a Democrat. Public has seen this bias for years, which has led to a decline in trust in the press.

3. Pay no attention to the Department of Justice’s failure to leak anything about the documents’ discovery before the November election

It would have not affected any votes. That election was rigged by the Republicans. What the DoJ’s silence does tell us is that the department doesn’t leak much when disclosures could hurt Democrats. They are a sieve for Republicans when they could be hurt.

4. Merrick Garland is in a tight spot

The discovery of classified documents at Biden’s “think tank” (Who, pray, actually thought that? This puts the attorney general in a difficult spot. Jack Smith, the Special Counsel he appointed is investigating Mar-a-Lago’s classified documents, among other matters. Republicans will scream if Trump gets charged with improperly maintaining those papers, while Biden is allowed to go free as Hillary Clinton did for keeping reams on her home-serve laptop.

5. Garland’s awkward situation does not mean Biden and Trump face the same document issues

Although we don’t have all the information, we do know at least three main differences between these sets of documents.

First, the size and possible sensitivity of the documents. Trump may have had more classified documents than he had, and might have had more sensitive ones.

Second, prompt compliance of National Archive requests. Biden’s lawyers say they immediately disclosed the documents to the National Archives and turned them over. Trump’s situation was different. The Archives discovered that the former president had some documents which he refused to hand over for several months despite multiple requests.

Third, possible obstruction. Trump and his lawyers actually signed a certification that they no longer had any classified documents. However, it appears that they knew they still had some. Trump could be charged for obstruction of justice. Biden has not been accused of anything similar.

6. Even if Trump and Biden had done the exact same thing, Biden would still be less vulnerable.

That’s because, under a long-standing ruling at the DoJ, sitting presidents cannot be charged with crimes. (That’s Congress’s impeachment responsibility.) The DoJ’s Office of Legal Counsel reached that conclusion several decades ago. The ruling doesn’t apply to former presidents, though none has ever faced the prospect of indictment.

The key points here are that we need to know a lot more about the Biden documents — and the public needs to know that any legal action will be applied without political bias. Trump’s bigger problem may not be withholding documents but lying about them. Trump is not like Biden and does not have the same protection as a sitting president.

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