The White House’s admission that it had kept secret the discovery of secret documents in Joe Biden’s possession prior to his election to the presidency has sparked a political firestorm in Washington Republicans open investigation on Capitol Hill have just come to power in one of the two chambers. For now, the new special prosecutor investigating these findings must determine whether Biden or his attorneys broke the law by finding and editing these documents in November.
Republicans in the House of Representatives, who just days ago were in the throes of a major crisis over their inability to elect a leader, have now joined forces to push for investigations into the handling of these documents. Especially after Attorney General (Justice Secretary) Merrick Garland announced on Thursday the creation of an independent case to be investigated by a special prosecutor who will conduct expert analysis and possibly even request a questioning of the President.
What Republicans criticize most is the secrecy with which the White House has handled this case. On Nov. 2, Biden’s attorneys found the first batch of classified documents, about 10, in a locked closet in a Washington office used by the current president while working for the University of Pennsylvania after leaving the vice presidential post in 2017.
These papers should have been given to the National Archives when Biden resigned as vice president. Even extradition cannot constitute a crime.
The documents found in the cabinet were turned over to the National Archives on the same day, and the Justice Department was alerted. The FBI, the criminal police, then initiated their own investigations. Six days later, the by-election took place, in which the Republicans regained power in the House of Representatives, but with a narrow majority and failed in their attempt to also control the Senate.
Not until November 14 did Attorney General Garland hire a federal prosecutor, John R. Lausch Jr., of Illinois, to conduct a preliminary investigation.
The case doesn’t end here. On December 20, Biden’s attorneys found additional documents at his home in Wilmington, Delaware. After the previous discovery at the Washington office, the attorneys, fearing to find more papers, searched the President’s two homes, one in that city and the other on Rehoboth Beach. They found the documents in the first’s garage and notified the prosecutor’s office, who are preliminary investigating the case. This ended with the recommendation on January 5 of this year to open a special purpose.
It wasn’t until CBS revealed the initial results on Jan. 9 that the White House admitted an investigation into the matter had been launched. On January 12, the same Thursday, the Attorney General formally appoints Special Counsel Robert Hur.
These findings are particularly relevant given that last year the FBI raided Donald Trump’s Florida mansion to seize classified documents. In his time, Biden called Trump “irresponsible” for this theft of secret cables and other papers.
Biden answered a single question on the subject Thursday after a speech on the economy and inflation at the White House. When asked by a reporter what he thought of keeping classified documents in his garage “next to his Corvette,” the model of his car, the President replied, “My Corvette is in a locked garage. So it’s not like they’re on the street.” After that, the President said nothing more.
The new chairman of the House Government Oversight Committee, Republican James Comer, has asked the national archives and the White House to disclose how this discovery was handled, as the first documents were found ahead of the November midterm elections.
Comer has lettered to the National Archives administration for “learning about the discovery of these documents days before the 2022 midterm elections and failing to alert the public to the possible violation of the law by President Biden.” “Meanwhile, the National Archives has staged an unprecedented and public FBI raid on Mar-a-Lago — home of former President Trump — to obtain other Presidential documents. The National Archives’ inconsistent treatment of the recovery of secret records of former President Trump and former President Biden raises questions about the political bias of this government agency,” he added.