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Biden’s “Surprise” Grows With Reported Discovery of Second Batch of Classified Documents

Below is a slightly modified version of my NY Post column on the discovery of the second batch of classified documents in areas previously used by President Joe Biden. A number of questions remain unanswered by the perplexing response of President Biden that he will not even ask about the identity of these documents on advice of counsel.  However, with the discovery of a second batch of classified documents at a different location, the President’s “surprise” could grow exponentially in the days to come. You might want to find a chair . . . the forthcoming spin from the press and pundits could produce global vertigo.

Here is the column:

There is an old story attributed to Noah Webster of being caught in a closet with a paramour. His wife cried out, “Noah! I am surprised!” Webster responded with a grammatical correction that “It is I who am surprised. You are astonished.”

The Webster story came to mind this week when President Joe Biden broke days of silence over the discovery of highly classified documents in a closet. Biden declared that he was “surprised” by the discovery but then said that his lawyers advised him not to ask (or presumably answer) other questions.

Biden was grammatically correct, if legally confused, in only describing his first reaction rather than his prior actions.

Biden was indeed surprised by the discovery. The rest of us should be astonished.

After all, it was Biden who expressed revulsion at the very thought of his predecessor possessing classified documents at Mar-a-Lago: “How that could possibly happen, how one anyone could be that irresponsible.”

Biden is not the only one who appears hopelessly conflicted. With the reported discovery of a second batch of highly classified documents connected to President Biden, the decisions of Attorney General Merrick Garland are fast moving from the inexplicable to incomprehensible.

Garland was presumably briefed that classified documents were discovered in Joe Biden’s old office on Nov. 2. He also presumably knew about the Biden documents when he appointed a special counsel to investigate the classified documents at Mar-a-Lago 16 days later.

At the time of the appointment of Jack Smith, some of us noted the inexplicable refusal of Garland to appoint a special counsel to look into alleged Biden influence peddling and other crimes.

Garland continued to refuse an appointment for Biden even as he justified the appointment for Trump on the basis that Trump was running for the presidency. Joe Biden is the president. What is the difference?

President Biden, meanwhile, is feigning ignorance, simply saying he was “surprised” the documents were there.

By not discussing the content of the documents, Biden minimizes his vulnerability to charges of obstruction or false statements. He can simply declare “surprise,” knowing that many in the media will welcome his silence as they spin the scandal.

Despite the lack of information, the press and pundits have already declared there is no real national security danger and certainly no comparison to Mar-a-Lago. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, D-Texas, declared “There is no comparison. They were in a locked closet. They were not accessible.”

So that is the standard? A locked closet? The Mar-a-Lago storage room was locked and later the security was enhanced at the request of the FBI.

It is fair to note that Trump and his staff are accused of false statements and obstruction. However, that does not change the same alleged crime of unlawful removal and possession.

Biden is taking a page from the Hillary Clinton playbook. Recall the long-sought Whitewater documents. After the case was effectively over, they suddenly appeared. The New York Times called the documents “elusive,” as if they moved by free will.

Clinton was also “surprised” by the discovery of the documents . . . after they could not be used as part of the earlier investigation.

There are some obvious explanations for the documents being present in the office, particularly given Biden’s work on a book that discussed his work in some of the referenced countries like Ukraine. However, even that explanation raises more questions. For example, Biden left office as vice president in 2017 and had an office at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia after finishing his term until 2019. On February 8, 2018, the Biden Center for Diplomacy and Global Engagement says that it opened its doors in Washington, D.C.

So if these documents were removed when Biden left office, where were they in the prior year and were they moved repeatedly before they ended up in the Washington office? This does not appear a “one-and-done” mistake. Rather documents may have been at various locations over a five year period.

Otherwise, Biden would have had to request and receive classified information at some point in the five years outside of a secure location.

Now that we have a second batch of documents, there is an increasing concern that classified documents were distributed or divided among different offices.  This also means that an even greater array of individuals may have had access to such documents at different locations over the five-year period.

None of this could be clarified with Biden simply expressing “surprise.”

The FBI has two immediate tasks: secure the highly classified documents and then determine whether they may have been compromised.

Consider that Biden did not categorically deny asking for the documents to be taken at the end of this term as vice president.

He also did not explain when he was briefed after they were found.

Democrats and the media are eager to wave this away and move on. But, as the statements of Garland and Biden show, there are many questions that need answering. The discovery of new classified documents only magnifies those unanswered questions.

That is why we were not “surprised” but we can all be legitimately (and grammatically) astonished by the discoveries in Joe Biden’s closet — and his silence about the contents.

Jonathan Turley is an attorney and professor at George Washington University Law School.

298 thoughts on “Biden’s “Surprise” Grows With Reported Discovery of Second Batch of Classified Documents”

  1. What? No comments from Svelaz yet. Must be sleeping late or still being astonished and trying to recover.

    1. GED, LOL! No, just enjoying reading the crazy assumptions and conspiracy theories flying on the thread. I’m still here. 🙂

      It’s hilarious how much effort republicans and MAGA nutties are putting in this trying to make it a direct parallel when it’s not. Turley says the media wants to wave the issue off to ‘protect’ Biden. But the reason is much simpler than that. There is no direct parallel to Trump. Trump’s home was raided because he spent nearly two years obstructing NARA and jerking it around when they were trying it get back documents that did NOT belong to Trump. It took a subpoena to finally force Trump to comply and when he did he only partly complied and lied about handing over all of it. The fact that he lied and the DOJ found out he still had classified documents including several TS/SCI level they had to act fast and they were justified in getting the warrant. Upon executing it they DID find them and it showed that they were indeed justified in raiding his property. Biden has done no such thing. He’s fully cooperated and immediately turned over documents to NARA within 24hrs. Not nearly two years. That’s a very, very big difference. Trump stole documents from the White House. In Biden’s case documents were found in an office that was being vacated. Documents NARA did not know were missing. That is not a crime, especially when they were reported immediately or claiming they were his.

  2. I come and go with my regard for Mitch McConnell. But I will forever be grateful to him for [temporarily] blocking Garland from a life-long career with SCOTUS. [I say temporarily because nothing stops his being nominated again; indeed, Biden might not, er, remember that Garland was previously nominated (the nomination lapsed).]

  3. His surprise is understandable, he forgot he stole the documents. Completely understandable, given his mental state.

    1. Well, Joe Biden was no paradigm of virtue when he still had two marbles rolling around in his head.

      *from legal standpoint, I think Joe would be better off pleading insanity

    2. “ His surprise is understandable, he forgot he stole the documents. Completely understandable, given his mental state.”

      Forgetting is forgivable. KNOWING, like Trump did, is not. He’s a stable genius. Clearly he willingly committed a crime.

  4. When I worked in the brigade TOC, tactical operations center, I had to verify the person’s clearance, to access secret docs, then log it in the safe register log, the 5 Ws, who, what, when, where and why. Somewhere there is a register for the safe, where they were supposed to be secured. Pleading insanity, is his best defense.

    1. There is no evidence or allegations that HE was the one who took out the documents. Staff also have that authority if they have clearance. Everyone is assuming Biden himself is the one who handled the documents and ‘forgot’ to put them back where they belonged. Staff is in charge of doing that. He can request info. But that does not mean he is the one who goes to get it and puts it back. So who would ultimately be responsible? The person requesting the material or the one who actually retrieves it?

      1. Correct, it isn’t joey mob election thief I’m writing my books and memoirs with this blunder’s fault, but it is President Trump’s not the lawyers.
        joey “hands on” i can’t remember reading or writing or my marked personal folder of crime publicly spoken of… or taking my $900,000.00 a year for letting the chinese scan everything…

    2. Exactly. I have the same experience with the Marines. Where’s the register log?

      1. Lost in Joe’s basement, no doubt.

        Thank you both for your service to our country 🙂

  5. Of course President Biden surprised. Senility causes him to not remember many of his actions, including where he stored these documents.

  6. The intellectual dishonesty of the Left is shown by the many assertions that Biden “acted quickly” when the first batch of documents were discovered. He must have initially selected, and overseen boxing and transportation, of these documents to their initial and later destinations. He must have known what was in his own closet! If the obverse is true, that other murkey figures, probably not cleared, are controlling highly classified documents under his nose, then it really may be time to invoke the 25th Amendment.

  9. Trump was naive to the arts of the politician and did wrong in that light. biden was well versed in the arts of the grifter his entire life. Therein lies the difference

    1. How did Trump do wrong? It is at the discretion of the President to take any documents he chooses. Plus, you have the Obama warehouse standard.

      1. It’s not at he discretion of the President to take any documents he chooses.

        The “Obama warehouse” is owned and overseen by NARA.

        1. >”It’s not at he discretion of the President to take any documents he chooses.”

          I submit the sitting President can de-classify documents by just thinking about it. .. and use it for toilet paper.

          *VP Biden, not so much.

          1. No, the President cannot declassify just by thinking about it, and the President cannot take any declassified documents he wants either.

            1. “No, the President cannot declassify just by thinking about it . . .”

              Since you seem to know:

              What is the legally mandated process for a president to declassify documents?

              P.S. There is zero chance of a straight answer.

              1. Sam, I have been asking anon. the same question since this latest scam surfaced. I never get response. The simple fact is power. No one has the power to over rule the Presidents decision.

                1. You’re a liar. Asked and answered, more than once.

                  If Trump could declassify documents simply by thinking about it and never notifying anyone, Biden could reclassify those documents simply by thinking about it and never telling anyone. It’s a ludicrous position to take.

                  1. “If Trump could . . .”

                    Like I said: “There is zero chance of a straight answer.”

                  2. Trump can not declassify something by Thinking about it. That is not exactly what he said – though what he said was incorrect and inarticulate – which is common for Trump. Just as Biden’s remarks are constantly demented, contradictory and cryptic.

                    What is True is that if ANY present ACTS while President such that a document is no longer classified – then it is no longer classifed.

                    Basically read 18 US 793 – If the president does anything that would be a crime by 18 US 793 if done by anyone else, they the document is declassified.

                    If the president gives classified information to a foreigner that information is no longer classified.

                  3. Reclassifying is far more tricky. As well as being irrelevant.

                    Once something is actually made public – it is declassified PERIOD.
                    The courts have already ruled on this long ago.
                    You can not put the cat back in the bag.

                    It is also likely that Trump’s EO to Declassify RussiaGate is irreversable.
                    It took effect the moment it was issued. But Government agencies were given the oportunity to Redact.
                    Biden could direct that redactions are to be broad. But again he can not put the cat back in the bag.

                    But lets say the Trump documents have nothing to do with Russiagate, or anything Else Trump publicly ordered declassifed.

                    If Trump declassified a document privately. AND That document has not subsequently provided to people without approriate clearance.

                    Then and only Then could Biden reclassify it.

                    But that still does nto make Trump’s possession or handling a crime.

                    To Get to a Crime, you have to make Trump aware the document has been reclassified AND you must have a new ACT on Trump’s part violating the law.

                    Mere possession is not sufficient. Even fighting to keep them is not sufficient.

                    The left is constantly trying to conflate attempting to enforce your perceived legal rights with obstruction.
                    It is NOT. Disagreeing with DOJ, forcing them to go to court, or get a warrant is NOT EVER a Crime or Obstruction.

                    It is not Obstruction when Republicans do it. It is not obstruction when Democrats do it.
                    As we are likely to see are the House starts Subpeoning people.

              2. Here’s a straight answer:
                https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/the-press-office/executive-order-classified-national-security-information

                You asked for a legally mandated process, and it’s spelled out in that EO.

                “’It’s not clear what Jedi-like lawyers said that you could declassify things with a thought, but the courts are unlikely to embrace that claim,’ said Jonathan Turley” (https://www.nbcwashington.com/news/national-international/what-documents-can-a-president-declassify-and-how-does-it-work/3164522/)

                1. The executive order you keep linking does not support your claim

                  This EO specifically excludes the President from any of the procedures.

                    1. Early on in Trumps term, he shared some classified information with foreign dignitary The left lost their mind, but even they conceded that is within the power of the Presidency. There is no doubt, no one has the power to overrule the actions of the President surrounding declassification.
                      You have to name the constitutional power that supersedes the Power of the President covering declassification.

                    2. I “have to” do nothing of the sort, as I never claimed anything like “[a] constitutional power … supersedes the Power of the President covering declassification.” An EO **comes from** the President, and Trump and Biden have chosen not to modify the Obama EO, so it’s still in force.

                2. but the courts are unlikely to embrace that claim,

                  Exactly what standard is “the Court” going to apply? The controlling rule would be the EO….that expempts the President.

                  1. “the Obama EO, so it’s still in force.”

                    Where in that EO does it spell out the *legally mandated* process for a *president* to declassify documents? (I’ll be waiting — forever.)

                    1. It spells out the process for everyone. It does not exempt the President from that process.

                    2. “It spells out the process for everyone. It does not exempt the President from that process.”

                      The above statement is made as if fact, but does it make sense, or is this representative of a mind unable to think? The EO of a former President is not a law created by Congress and signed by the President. An EO might not be Constitutional. All follow the EO because what is ordered by the President unless challenged, must be followed. However, does that force the next President to adhere to the EO?

                      That is an open question, but the present President can cancel an old EO. When that President fails to respect the EO, IMO, the provision no longer exists, at least for the President, if not elsewhere.

                      ATS is wrong, but he treats his statements as facts when they are only his opinions. That leads to incorrect facts coming from his keyboard, so one must be aware that his facts are opinions, more frequently than not, wrong.

                    3. “It spells out . . .”

                      I see. Since that EO does *not* mention the president, it applies to the president. Good luck with that argument.

                      And good luck with the argument that an EO can amend the Constitution (in particular, Article II).

                3. Anonymous at 11:33: Here’s even a more ‘straighter’ answer.
                  1) I do not believe Trump ever declared that he had declassified any documents with a thought; -I believe he only said, during an interview, that he could do that if he wanted. Is that correct?
                  Even though this is an open blog that welcomes mere opinions, You (Anonymous)–who loves to demand “evidence” for opinions expressed here– need to provide us with Your specific evidence as to what documents Trump said he declassified with a thought.
                  (2) I believe Kash Patel, a legal aide, testified under oath that he heard/witnessed Trump declare declassification of several documents, n’est ce pas?
                  I do not know of any case law over the effective time of declassification, -whether something can be immediately declassified AS TO THE PARTIES PRESENT, or whether such declassification is only effective upon/after notice to the originators..Indeed, Professor Turley and others later opined that there would have to be followup notice (by Trump) that he had done so (declassified).
                  Thanking you in advance.

                  2. “You … need to provide us with Your specific evidence as to what documents Trump said he declassified with a thought.”

                    I did not claim that Trump said that, so I bear no burden of proof for it. In fact, iowan2 is the one who keeps insisting that Trump declassified all of the documents with classification markings in his possession, so ask him.

                    1. I directed my comment to you because you repeatedly bring up that no document can be declassified by thought. I do not recall iowan2 saying that Trump had declassified some documents with thought.
                      I do recall a comment by him (@2;32 below), outlining his understanding of events, but I do not see where he states that Trump declassified them by thought. So what were you referring to?

                    2. Pay attention to what I actually said, lin: “iowan2 is the one who keeps insisting that Trump declassified all of the documents with classification markings in his possession.” If you need an example of iowan2 doing what I actually claimed — not what you wish to move the goalposts to — here are two:
                      https://jonathanturley.org/2023/01/11/bidens-closet-it-is-not-the-crime-but-the-clarity-that-concerns-the-press-and-pundits/comment-page-1/#comment-2253368
                      https://jonathanturley.org/2023/01/11/bidens-closet-it-is-not-the-crime-but-the-clarity-that-concerns-the-press-and-pundits/comment-page-1/#comment-2253291

                      If you want to know how iowan2 is so certain of his claim, ask him, not me.

                    4. Yes, lin, the 11:33 comment is mine, but you’re quoting a statement by Turley.

            2. Idk about taking documents (but I don’t, necessarily, agree with you), but the President can de/unclassify anything he deems appropriate.

              If it’s not ‘classified’, it’s just information.

              *e.g. ‘Russian disinformation’ is just another euphemism they use.

              1. Where’s the edit button?

                … just another euphemism they use in the media when they don’t want to print the retraction.

              2. I agree that the President can declassify what he wants, but NOT “just by thinking about it.” There’s a process to follow, and the relevant agency has to be notified, and it’s marked as no longer classified. If Trump could declassify things just with a thought and no notification, Biden could reclassify them just with a thought and no notification.

                1. There’s a process to follow, and the relevant agency has to be notified, and it’s marked as no longer classified.

                  And the President is exempt from that process.
                  That’s why President Trump had “marked classified” documents. He spent months demanding sets of information declassified. The originating agency would heavily redact documents and send them to the President. The President would send the redacted documents back, and demand a clean document. The agencies ran out the clock and Trump said fine, I will take the marked documents, declassified, with me.

                  As far as classify something without having it marked….whats the point? Anyone could have the document because there would be no way to sort between classified and not classified.

                  1. “As far as classify something without having it marked”

                    They ARE marked classified! FFS, this entire discussion is about documents with classified markings.

                    “there would be no way to sort between classified and not classified.”

                    Right, which is why you have to ALSO let people know that previously classified materials have been declassified: unless they’re marked declassified, “there would be no way to sort between classified and not classified.”

                    You don’t even understand that you’re undermining your own repeated claims that Trump declassified all of the materials with classified markings in his possession.

                  2. Yes, and Trump declassified all the crimes he had a handle on committed against him, and the DOJ and FBI just ignored him, keeping the documents classified and not released.
                    It was quite something when I saw Trump fans decrying him for not declassifying the crimes committed, completely unaware he had and that the bureaucratic criminals just did what they wanted anyway, ignoring Presidential power.
                    It was reported directly by some of the Trump cabinet and appointments but only on non MSM media so most consumers haven’t a clue.

                2. >”If Trump could declassify things just with a thought and no notification, Biden could reclassify them just with a thought and no notification.” Anon#1

                  Don’t be silly. You can’t reclassify information. The cats already out of the bag.

                  *there may be some legitimacy to ‘following a process’, be that as it may .. . but it’s the thought that counts.

        2. Anonymous – It is clear from the letter of the Obama Foundation to NARA on September 11, 2018 that the Foundation possessed and controlled Obama’s records at that time. https://www.obama.org/wp-content/uploads/BOF-NARA-LOI.pdf For example, paragraph 7 states: “The Obama Foundation agrees to tranfer up to . . . $3,300,000 to the . . . NATF to support the move of classified and unclassified Obama Presidential records and artifacts from Hoffman Estates [the Chicago warehouse selected by the Obama Foundation] to NARA-controlled facilities . . ..” It is unlikely that Hoffman Estates was more secure better than MAL. 9/11/18 was 20 months after Obama left office.

          1. Wrong.

            “The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), in accordance with the Presidential Records Act, assumed physical and legal custody of the Presidential records from the administrations of Barack Obama, George W. Bush, Bill Clinton, George H.W. Bush, and Ronald Reagan, when those Presidents left office. NARA securely moved these records to temporary facilities that NARA leased from the General Services Administration (GSA), near the locations of the future Presidential Libraries that former Presidents built for NARA. All such temporary facilities met strict archival and security standards, and have been managed and staffed exclusively by NARA employees. Reports that indicate or imply that those Presidential records were in the possession of the former Presidents or their representatives, after they left office, or that the records were housed in substandard conditions, are false and misleading.”
            https://www.archives.gov/press/press-releases/2022/nr22-001

          2. “The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) administers the Barack Obama Presidential Library, located in Hoffman Estates, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago. The library holds records from the Obama presidential administration and is leased, controlled, managed, and used exclusively by NARA. The Obama Foundation, an independent entity, has never had control over the records in Hoffman Estates. All records in that facility are stored and managed by NARA in accordance with archival storage standards, and all classified records were stored in an appropriately secured compartment within the facility. NARA moved these records at the end of the Obama administration to the Hoffman Estates facility under the assumption that former President Obama and his Foundation would be building and transferring to NARA a traditional, physical Presidential Library in the Chicago area. When former President Obama decided that he would not build a physical, NARA-operated Presidential Library, NARA transported the classified records back to secure locations in the Washington, DC, metropolitan area. The Obama Foundation provided NARA with funds to help convert the Hoffman Estates facility and to cover some of the expenses of moving the classified records, but the foundation has never had possession or control over the records.”
            https://www.archives.gov/press/press-releases/2022/nr22-001

            1. Anonymous – The letter you quote was written in 2022 by the Democrat head of NARA to protect Obama frorm criticism regarding handling of his records. It is clear from the 9/11/18 letter that the OF then had actual possession of the documents, regardless of the paperwork the parties later create to obfuscate the situation in 2018. But instead of arguing endlessly with you, I suggest that the readers of this blog read the 9/11/18 letter and draw their own conclusions.

              1. No, the 2018 letter (presumably also written by a Democrat) did not say that the Obama Fndn had actual possession. It only said that it was paying for the move from the Hoffman Estates, which were already under control of NARA, to other NARA-controlled facilities.

                1. A lot of spin. This was previously discussed, but you continue to modify and spin the prior discussions. Obama’s documents were in an insecure warehouse.

                  We get all sorts of spin from the left, whether it be 51 CIA agents claiming something or letters written to protect members of the left. All this spin is to detract from the discussion.

                  Obama’s papers were not well cared for and were in an insecure location. We do not know what was in all those files. Trump’s papers were ALL in a secure location.

                  NARA is a record keeper, but it does not own the Presidential records. It is there to preserve documents and make documents available to those needing them. That is it. The President has ownership of all the papers.

                  A dispute can arise between NARA and a President, but that dispute is supposed to be managed in court, not by an FBI raid. The regulations are not clear as to the transfer of documents from the ex-President to NARA, and why litigation is supposed to take place (again, not FBI raids). I think the question of who holds the documents was intentionally loose so neither party could claim absolute control over the documents placing the courts in between.

                  Trump complied with all the laws. The FBI was at Mar a Lago and was permitted back. We don’t see the affidavit to the raid because there is nothing in it to suggest that Trump did anything criminal. This is another attempt by the left to usurp power. That is the important issue, for the left is fascist in nature and anti-American.

                  Fascists believe in government control. The American spirit, Revolution, and Constitution believe in individualism where individuals give power to the government, NOT where the government controls the rights of the people.

                  1. “ NARA is a record keeper, but it does not own the Presidential records. It is there to preserve documents and make documents available to those needing them. That is it. The President has ownership of all the papers.”

                    Nope. Wrong.

                    BY LAW all presidential records are owned by the government (the public). Except those which are clearly personal records. Read the presidential records act It’s clearly spelled out.

                    1. .However, if the Presidential records were owned by the government, and NARA was in control, NARA could prevent a President from placing his records into his library which is open to the people.

                      You have not read the Presidential Records Act, or at least you haven’t read it with understanding. You have no understanding of our American Republic and the individualism it provides. Do you think NARA is supposed to be some all-powerful group of bureaucrats that can impose their will with men carrying guns? Force is all you know. Almost everything you say, if placed in context, is dumb. You might have a few correct individual facts, but you don’t know how to use them.

                      You are the joke of the blog.

      2. If I were the president, I certainly would not tolerate my subordinates in the ‘Intelligence Community’ out to ‘get me six ways from Sunday.’ – Sen. Chuck Schumer

        That sounds worse the Jan. 6. Heads would roll .. .

        *who’s in charge around here?

      3. I am implying that he was untrained in the art of political obfuscation and as a result was caught in the prog/left trap. Such traps are never laid for democrats. I see Trump much in the same light as Tail Gunner Joe – the proper message but the worst possible messanger.

      4. I find his error was in his choice of advisers to steer him through the swamp’s maze. His message was good, but he was not the right messanger and his crew did nothing to help him or curb his inappropriate actions.

  10. “Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, D-Texas, declared ‘There is no comparison. They were in a locked closet. They were not accessible.'”

    “D” is for dimwit. Sheila Jackson Lee, pugilist from Texas, assaulted a Capitol Hill Police officer. Apparently, it’s only a crime when Trump supporters are accused of doing it. One more example of why we don’t want to give statehood to Doublestandardstan.

    1. I would add that it’s not unreasonable to ask whether what’s in these documents would provide a motive for their disappearance. Maybe Joe’s documents weren’t lost. Maybe they were “disappeared?” Time for a special counsel.

    2. “They were in a locked closet. They were not accessible.”

      That’s a howler.

      You can use a bobby pin, paper clip, screwdriver. Takes a mere minutes.

  12. This is a set up and the idiot republicans are falling all over themselves to help. The dems want to get rid of old Joe who thinks he is running for president in 2024. You will know this is a setup when the MSM is suddenly on board and start criticizing old Joe. Just watch and see.

    1. Sure it is. What about Barry’s warehouse of documents? Is that a repub setup too? Please continue to perverse logic like all the leftists seem to do these days.

  13. Joe Biden is cognitively impair. Asking him what he was doing in 2017 when he left the Vice Presidency is now a time that is 6 years ago Joe Biden, when he did not have the impairments he has now. He now has ‘handlers’ who actually tell him what to do as US President.
    Merrick Garland has to take action since clearly the White House will do nothing.
    The new GOP led Congress can push this but will they?

  14. So he is “surprised”.

    Does this mean that he did not know that the documents were taken, and then stored in his office? And if he did not know they were taken, who took them and why? And why were they placed in his office?

    He claims that he does not know the contents of the discovered documents. How can he not know? Were the documents taken and placed there by others? Did he take them but has now forgotten what he took, or why he took them?

    Negligent or careless handling has also been construed as violative of the statute.

    Apparently, the Biden Administration spent the time from November thru January casting about for a Rose Mary Woods of their own but found no volunteers. It is amusing that the two lawyers who found the documents did not trust each other enough to conceal the occurrence of the discovery.

    1. No, joey is just lying, as nearly always. He had his stolen criminal archive papers to write up a book and his memoirs and cover up his crimes in ukraine and china and turkmenistan and a few other foreign nations.

  15. “You might want to find a chair . . . the forthcoming spin from the press and pundits could produce global vertigo.” Gotta love Jonathan Turley.

  16. The better story is of Samuel Johnson. A woman on the street tells Dr. Johnson, “You smell.” “No, madam,” he corrects her, “I stink, you smell.”

  17. the surprise is the 100% corrupt DC establishment and media would allow this to be reported. Of course nothing will happen as Democrats and their families are ALLOWED to commit crimes. The DOJ and FBI are 100% corrupt

    1. That is the overlooked HUGE story here. I hope someday we will find out who this person with a conscience was.
      Also, I hate to admit it, but I really don’t want to know what was in these documents. I sure they positioned the crime family as the big dogs in town.

  18. The circumstances surrounding these classified documents, at least the few that we know about, suggest that multiple people may have had access to them over the years and that some of these people, realizing the gold mine they were sitting on, decided to spill the beans and tell the media. Once the cat was out of the proverbial bag, it became necessary for the WH to get “out in front” of the story so the spin could be choreographed accordingly. The problem with this is that the president often lies on small things so the implication is that he will lie on big things, too. This is more than “crazy uncle Louie” too long at the punchbowl, this is hot stuff with scads and scads of national security meaning that must be examined and evaluated. Can we trust the FBI to do this? I don’t think so. This leaves the Republican-controlled House our only trustworthy source for evaluating this Biden-owned and operated mess.

    1. My theory is the reason why they waited until after the election to disclose is because they wanted to see if Democrats could hold both Houses. If Ds did hold both houses then we may never have known about the mishandling of classified documents.

      But Republicans did get control of the House and they promised investigations. So the Biden people knew the gig was up and the docs would emerge. So get out in front. Pretend the docs just magically appeared in a locked closet. Similar to how Hillary’s Whitewater documents just magically appeared out in the open in the White House one day.

    2. Isn’t the main problem here that Biden never had the authority to remove these documents in the first place? He was not President (I always thought “President of the US had to be capitalized).

  19. Garland has no shame.

    He is a political creature through and through.

    Imagine him as a Supreme and think about those poor plaintiffs relying on judicial integrity.

    America lucked out. We will be rid of Garland in two years.

  20. There is no cause for concern on the obvious double standard. Nor is there cause for concern that Biden’s ears are different today than they were his entire life beforehand.

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