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.
Garland has appointed Robert Hur as Special Counsel. Hur is a former US attorney in Maryland who was nominated to be US attorney in Maryland by then-President Donald Trump in 2017.
Hur’s background? He was a top aide to Deputy AG Rod Rosenstein and was special assistant and counsel to now FBI Director Chris Wray when he was an Assistant AG at the DOJ.
I’m assuming that like me you’re saying that resume spells S-W-A-M-P
Wray was also appointed by Trump.
Here’s how I like to do it. I like to label a folder “Bills”, you see. And I put bills in that folder. I might have one labeled “Personal Letters”. That’s where I put personal correspondence. I don’t label a folder “documents folder”, and put all of my documents in there. That way I don’t mix in all of my information together.
Could I leave space in my resume with the heading “Basic Management Skills” for this? — at least when applying for positions in Washington. And in particular with people like Biden, Trump and Clinton. Their work appears to be so time consuming that perhaps they are in need of a person like me with these skills.
Just a guess here. The President of the United States IS above the law now.
“When the president does it, that means it is not illegal,” Nixon told his interviewer.
Biden is not above the law. Trump isn’t either.
ATS, you lost the argument. How do we know? You brought Trump in who has been heavily investigated while Biden is able to prevent significant investigations into potential criminal activities that are glaringly obvious.
DISTRACTION [Biden Confidential Docs]
What else is going on, Hummmm ?
Bankruptcy Law Expert, Senator Elizabeth Warren, Asks FTX Bankruptcy Judge to Boot Sullivan & Cromwell from the [FTX] Case
Which might be a good thing or not, depends upon Who they get to replace Sullivan & Cromwell, as FTX made quite sizeable Donations to the DNC.
https://wallstreetonparade.com/2023/01/bankruptcy-law-expert-senator-elizabeth-warren-asks-ftx-bankruptcy-judge-to-boot-sullivan-cromwell-from-the-case/
The Judge has already chosen a side (Bench Level Cover-up in progress).
Judge Slams Senators’ Letter Targeting FTX Bankruptcy Lawyers
https://news.bloomberglaw.com/business-and-practice/judge-slams-senators-letter-targeting-ftx-bankruptcy-lawyers
What else ???
Well there’s the Laptop/Russian Collusion “Scandal” thats disapearing into the sunset.
What ever happen to John Durham?
Cases against Clinton/Biden being quietly Dismissed (Dismantled) {Scroll Down the Listings}
https://news.bloomberglaw.com/us-law-week/search?query=John%20Durham
And on the Other hand:
Twitter Files – An ongoing cess-pool of Lies by the FBI
https://thefederalist.com/2022/12/20/latest-twitter-files-bombshell-shows-fbi-neck-deep-in-russian-disinformation-lie-to-kill-hunter-biden-laptop-story/
Oh there’s got to be more?
Suprise! Election irregularities that supposidly didn’t happen are resolving at the State {AZ] and Federal Levels [Moore v. Harper].
Soooo much more …..
*Breaking News* Latest Patsy – John Lausch Esq.
Garland assigned U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois John Lausch to find out how the material marked classified ended up at the Penn Biden Center. The review is considered a preliminary step, and the attorney general will determine whether further investigation is necessary, including potentially appointing a special counsel.
10 Scandals To Keep Your Eye On In 2023
https://thefederalist.com/2023/01/03/10-scandals-to-keep-your-eye-on-in-2023/
-Focus-
Alice in Wonderland
Looks like Garland made the decision to appoint a special last week before the news was public. I wonder if the good Professor will continue to attack him?
Looks like Garland made the decision to appoint a special last week
It only matters when Garland actually made the appointment and the date on the scope letter.
Decisions are not time stamped.
“Looks like Garland made the decision to appoint a special last week before the news was public. I wonder if the good Professor will continue to attack him?”
Easy to say, damned hard to prove. Moreover, as noted in the article, Garland knew of this in November 2022 when he appointed a special prosecutor for Trump…yet the Biden SC over classified docs isn’t named until today, and only after the second “surprise” batch is found?
Also, still waiting to hear about the FBI raid on Joe’s home and office.
Not only that, in his statement Garland said the US Attorney in Illinois was informed on December 20 of the discovery of the second set of documents. So what changed between then and now?
(Garland needed time to research the Us Atty in Illinois’ philosophical/political proclivities. He clearly wanted a Trump-appointed attorney….in the same way that Chuck Todd wants a hand-picked-for-opinions Republican on MTP).
(I’m JOE-king,everyone)!
Garland said that he asked Lausch to recommend whether or not a Special Counsel should be appointed, and that last week Lausch recommended in the affirmative. Then Garland needed time to determine who to appoint (Lausch is moving into the private sector).
Exactly, Anonymous @ 4:30pm.
SDC: your timeline is completely off. Re-read the news. Also, an FBI raid was not necessary because Biden complied, in contrast to Trump. Do you have evidence of Biden’s refusal to comply with a subpoena or any document requests from NARA? If not, then what the heck are you talking about?
Daniel: From December 20 to the appointment of the special counsel was 2 weeks. Y’all are acting like this was done at a snail’s pace.
I predict that in five minutes Garland will appoint a Special Prosecutor to investigate the Biden documents. This will enable the Press Secretary to dodge any questions, as well as the administration and the MSM will play along until everyone has forgotten the story.
Damned if you do, damned if you don’t.
When one acts outside the rule of law that is what happens. If he starts to act within the rule of law you will see a change from the right, but then the left will start yelling.
So good old Joe stored some classified documents in his garage. So much for the secured location spin. Garland knew about these documents on November 2. Why did he wait until after the midterm elections to let the rest of us know about it? Why wasn’t CNN called in to report the search of Joe’s garage? Where are the pictures of the boxes next to Joe’s old dusty set of golf clubs? One can only hope that some of you want your vote back. Or do you like the dimness of the room as the people you voted for slowly lower the level of the light. Maybe you didn’t know but now you do know. Will you soon forget?
“ Why did he wait until after the midterm elections to let the rest of us know about it?”
Because it’s standard policy not to discuss details in an ongoing investigation AND it’s against their policy to issue statements on issues that may effect an election. Remember Comey and his announcement of Hillary being investigated? NARA was asking Trump for documents he was not supposed to have a whole year BEFORE he got subpoenaed and getting raided. The DOJ knew was refusing to return presidential records a full year before everyone else knew. The only reason everyone found out is because Trump was subpoenaed and then after lying about turning over everything. The DOJ had cause to issue a warrant.
Svelaz:
If it’s standard practice not to comment, then why have we known moment-to-moment updates on the Trump investigation? Why has Biden commented so frequently?
If Joe Biden cannot understand how anyone could be so stupid as to have classified documents in his home, then does that make Joe Biden stupid for having boxes of classified documents in his home?
We didn’t know about the Trump investigation for months.
Svelaz, it wasn’t standard policy to keep the Trump Mar-a-Lago raid under wraps while the investigation was being conducted. This excuse is not only disingenuous but outrightly dishonesty. Hiding behind the ongoing investigation balony doesn’t deserve the mustard. Just like Comey leaking the investigation of Trump to the Press. This is the argument of Washington charlatans. You’ve learned your lessons well.
The FBI wasn’t the one who made the MaL raid public. It was a local reporter who saw them there and reported it.
LOL No. Lights blazing in fully armored regalia. Case closed.
Said it before, will say it again: this is one of THE most corrupt people to ever hold the presidency. Think the elites and globalists are not making your life miserable, or that they are somehow magically above the law because they float on utopian fairy dust? Think again. This guy’s lies make Trump look like George Washington. Despicable, disgusting, and I am never voting dem again. That would appear to no longer matter given they manufacture votes out of thin air, weeks after tallying has been supposed to have ceased, always, always, without exception, in the ‘convenient’ counties. Every time, since Hillary lost.
I did not, in fact, vote for this, and I am not a conservative, never have been. The lies. Ye Gods, the lies. and the lack of followup or repercussions. Like him or not, Bill Clinton was grilled for far, far less, and it was a national scandal. We are not in good hands in the 21st century – there is no longer a ‘Democratic Party’, just a globalist regime using that name, the pockets of which being lined are not yours or mine. And they sure as **** don’t care about our freedom or the potential of the individual, which is what made them rich in the first place. This. Is. A. Mess. I pray we do not have another WORLD war over it. I really do.
AG Merrick Garland exemplifies the weaponization of government against Republicans. He knew Joe Biden had classified information in multiple locations, taken years ago when he left office as VP, when he went after Trump for the documents at Mar-a-Lago.
The double standard will continue, because it is a winning strategy for Democrats. Their own voters don’t care, and Democrats don’t care about Republican complaints of abuse of power or the two tiered justice system.
I think that there should be an intelligence community liaison attached to the President and VP office, whose job it is to review all documents packed up at the end of term. I think moving forward, there should be one standard applied to everyone regarding the handling of classified documents. Justice isn’t blind if one person can go to prison for accidentally bringing a classified document home, while nothing happens to another who kept classified information on an illegal server backed up to the Cloud, and then lied about it.
Trump claimed that he declassified those documents as president, which was his purview. However, there is no formal process for declassification by the president. It is best to leave a paper trail of what was declassified, and when. Again, a person with clearance attached to the President and VP’s office could be tasked with keeping records of declassification.
It was my understanding that one of the reasons for the armed FBI raid on Mar-a-Lago was to prevent any documents from being removed or destroyed. Telling the lawyers to hand it over was deemed insufficient. Yet, Biden’s lawyers, who presumably have no clearance, are trusted with reviewing classified documents. What’s to say that they don’t destroy d@mning documents?
As far as the Mar-a-Lago issue, the best course of action in keeping with past precedent would have been for a member of the National Archives, with clearance, to review the contents of the boxes, on site, along with an appointee of Trump, who also had clearance. Taking boxes with vanity magazines was inappropriate and clearly an abuse of the reason for their being there. All classified documents, along with those deemed to belong in the National Archives, should have been placed in appropriate storage while Trump’s argument about declassification and ownership went to completion. I’ll bet Trump has all sorts of souvenir documents from Paradise Ranch, JFK, and anything else deemed fascinating.
Karen,
“ It was my understanding that one of the reasons for the armed FBI raid on Mar-a-Lago was to prevent any documents from being removed or destroyed. Telling the lawyers to hand it over was deemed insufficient.”
They were not armed. They spent nearly two years telling Trump to hand over the documents. He partially complied and when they found out he lied they had ample reason to get a search warrant. They were justified when they discovered Trump had much more including top secret documents that were never supposed to have left the White House. THAT is why his home was raided. Trump was jerking around NARA and they finally had enough after nearly two years of asking him nicely.
Biden’s lawyers IMMEDIATELY notified NARA and handed over the documents within 24hrs. Which do you think warrants a raid?
Svelaz:
Trump’s argument is that he declassified documents as President. That’s a disagreement, not a lie. However, since you brought it up, let’s explore warrants triggered by lying.
You said, “when they found out he lied they had ample reason to get a search warrant”.
Hillary Clinton, “I have neither sent, nor received, classified information on a private server.”
Hillary Clinton when asked about wiping the private server with BleachBit, while under subpoena, “Do you mean, did I wipe it with a cloth?”
@Karen
You are such a sense of reason. Thank you so much for being here. Your comments are self explanatory, and it is great.
Karen S. is a pure disciple. She believes the fairy tale about “mentally declassifying” documents—something no court has bought or believes because there is a declassification process. Karen S. previously argued that Trump was just a pack rat and sloppy housekeeper. That’s before some of the lying started. She needs to stop her harping about Hillary Clinton: she was investigated by the DOJ and found to have not committed any crimes.
“[T]here is a declassification process.”
Really?
What is the legally mandated process for a president to declassify documents?
There can not be a process mandated by law that covers the President.
National Security is an executive branch function. This is why the procedures have been spelled out in an Executive order for decades.
I am not personally opposed to law on this – but without constitutional amendment there is a constitutional and separation of powers problem.
The above ultimately means the president can declassify anything, and there is no process.
This is also why Biden and Trump are not comparable. Biden Was VP, He does not own WH Documents. He does not have limitless declassification authority.
Any WH Documents in his possession are “stolen”
Any Classified Documents in his possession are a violation of National Security.
All claims regard to Trump MUST resolve who owns the WH Documents – including Classified Documents.
That is What Cannon was working through in Civil Court when the 11th Appeals improperly intervened.
The 11th Appeals is wrong on multiple issues.
There are 4th amendment issues, there are 5th amendment issues, and some of those issues are ACTUALLY Unique specifically because Trump came into posession of the documents while he was president.
There are also PRA issues – again Unique to Trump.
The 11th appeals opinion was wrong – even on standard 4th amendment grounds. It is not common for the target of search warrants to ask for an ownership and priviledge review of seized documents.
But it occurs frequently enough that the 11th Apeals is flat wrong that it is not proper.
But they are additionally wrong because existing PRA caselaw allows the president to claim as personal property any WH Documents from his administration. And separately NARA is ONLY the custodian of what the president does not take. It is all eventually returned to him when his presidential library is complete.
I would note this applies to classified documents too.
You do not have to agree with my legal analysis – though I think it is solid.
What is Most critical is that it is a valid position on matters that are not yet adjudicated and to the extent they have been adjudicated have been decided mostly favorable to Trump.
If it is reasonable for Trump to beleive that these documents were his. That they were declassified, or that even if they were not, that he could legally possess them. Then there is no possible crime.
The same can NOT be said for Biden.
With news of Garland’s decision to appoint a special counsel last week before the news got ahold of the story, will you revise the above?
“He knew Joe Biden had classified information in multiple locations, taken years ago when he left office as VP, when he went after Trump for the documents at Mar-a-Lago.”
That’s false. You’re either willfully ignorant or lying. The MaL search occurred last summer. Garland wasn’t informed about the Biden docs until Nov. and Dec.
Why do you invent this garbage?
“It was my understanding that one of the reasons for the armed FBI raid on Mar-a-Lago was to prevent any documents from being removed or destroyed. Telling the lawyers to hand it over was deemed insufficient. ”
That’s total BS. Not only was Trump first just told to turn the docs over, he was subpoenaed for them. It was only after he failed to turn them over and then lied about it, claiming to have turned everything over, that the FBI got a warrant after a whistleblower let them know that Trump was lying.
“Taking boxes with vanity magazines was inappropriate”
No, actually, it shows the intermingling of classified with non-classified records, which is legally relevant re: the lack of care. (Same for Biden’s docs if they were intermingled.)
I’m still waiting for the picture of the classified document displayed on the floor of the Penn Center.
You’re not going to get one, because Biden’s lawyers turned them over upon finding them. Just like you never saw a photo of the earlier documents that Trump’s lawyers did turn over. Unlike the documents in Trump’s office, which were found in an FBI search after obtaining a search warrant, when he didn’t turn them over even after being subpoenaed.
1. Get with it, Mr. Turley! The answer is staring you in the face:
THIS IS WHY BIDEN WANTS TO BAN GAS STOVES!
Once Biden learned that the jig was almost up, he let Jill give orders>
BURN THE DOCUMENTS!
Being the bright minded bunch they are, they used Jill’s gas stove..Of course things got out of hand, and the house caught fire, nearly burning to the ground and almost
killing Jill.. We know this story is true because Biden has told it so many times, viz:
https://www.msn.Com/en-us/news/politics/biden-repeats-exaggerated-2004-fire-story-at-white-house-event/ar-AA12QE7U
That’s why you yo won’t see any more troves of classified documents—unless the dam Republican fire fighters stuffed them down their pants.
2. “Ill take “opinions you won’t find by the WaPo Editorial Board. , Alex.”
Leo—Regarding gas ovens: The DNC may eventually encourage Joe to stick his head in one.
But Cindy,
monkey’s brainsJoe Biden’s head is not to be found in Washington DCAnd monkey’s brains, though popular in Cantonese cuisine, are not often to be found in Washington, DC.
– Tim Curry as Wadsworth’s Butler
Estovir……So true….LOL. And he doesn’t have a Clue 🙂
Leo: you really need to stop listening to and/r believing the lies of looney tunes Marjorie Taylor Greene. There are discussions about the dangers posed by gas stoves currently in use, which includes polluting the air in homes and the health hazards this creates, as well as measures that can be taken to reduce or eliminate emissions. The issue is in the discussion stage. Period. Down the road, the current design of gas stoves might be banned. But…that’s down the road. Joe Biden is not involved in this, and there’s no current plan to ban gas stoves. That’s just more of her lies and exaggerations to suck in disciples.
“Seat belt laws will never be used as a primary violation in a traffic stop.”
“We only want equal legal rights in same gender couples.”
“We aren’t indoctrinating children to be gay.”
“No transgender library hours are actually occurring, that a neocon conspiracy.”
“We wouldn’t try to usurp parental rights, they always need to be fully notified of medical procedures.”
Yes, Virginia: this IS worse.
Is the average citizen of America being taken for a ride, you know like “Boxer’s trip to the knacker’s!” Everyday it’s the same malarkey “hypocrisy”. There is no need to compare one incident or person to another; if it involves any portion of the democratic left, you can be assured the outcome will tilt and be reinforced by the party apparatchik and their toady media. The obsequious party members have no peripheral vision to see fact if it does not fit their definition of truth. The Democrats painting over the canvas of our Constitutional Rights, Laws and their continued expansion of Governmental controls may portend a calamitous future for The United States of America.
New statement from White House Counsel’s Office:
https://twitter.com/IanSams46/status/1613555584837484545/photo/1
Also, Garland’s office says he’ll be making a statement about an unspecified topic at 1:15pm.
Can’t we all agree that there is one set of rules for the elite (especially the elite swamp dwellers) and another set of rules for the rest of us in the real America?
(Sadly this has negatively affected Professor Turley’s blog entries — both in terms of subjects selected and opinions about them — because he both realizes this and realizes he is an elite swamp dweller
Turley is in extreme hyperbole mode with this issue as are the rest of the republicans. Democrats are not “eager to wave this away” or dismiss it. On the contrary it’s republicans who are eager to make this as a direct parallel to what Trump endured. That’s the goal. A very misguided goal infused with a big dose of ignorance.
Should the issue be investigated, sure, I agree with that idea. However the investigation should be focused not on making direct parallels to Trumps obvious criminal actions. But on the problem of why and how classified documents keep going missing or left out. I assume this is a common problem and an investigation could point to the need for new procedures or focusing on enforcing current ones. There is still no evidence that president Biden is directly involved with this issue. The only “link” is that they were found in offices used by him and his staff and it is not known whether he was even in the room when classified documents were used. Trump on the other hand directly told his staff to take documents to his home, documents that were not his to take. NARA knew he had them and they spend nearly two years asking him to return them. NARA gave Trump plenty of opportunities to make this a non-issue. But of course he refused and fought to keep documents that were not legally his. That by definition is theft. Trump is complaining and demanding the FBI raid president Biden’s homes and even the White House—the White House is an authorized location for storing classified documents, even TS/SCI.— because his home was raided. He wants everyone to ignore the fact that he was illegally in possession of documents that did not belong to him and he lied about having any more after finally complying with a subpoena. Keep in mind the it took a subpoena to finally force him to comply instead of cooperating and handing over the documents like Biden’s lawyers did. Because he LIED about not having more classified documents and the DOJ finding out he had more including TS/SCI level documents the DOJ was justified in getting warrant. Trump spent nearly two years playing games with NARA trying to keep documents that were NOT his. The DOJ was not going to waste time playing games with such a serious breach of protocol and risk having multiple TS/SCI documents in his possession that he had no business having. Biden has not done any of that and there is no reason to raid his properties. Trump already proved he was willing to lie about and hide classified documents. He established a reputation of not being trustworthy. He is still on the hook for criminal charges. Finding classified documents misplaced in an office that once belonged to Biden for years does not change that simple fact.
Svelaz wrote: ” He is still on the hook for criminal charges.”
Nope
Trump is now definitely off the hook
Any fool should be able to predict by now that another nuthing-burger was always going to be the end result of this mar-a-lago Trump/FBI kayfabe.
The FBI leadership and Trump have now once again performed a little wrestling bout where Trump is in dire straits only to once again wiggle off the hook and emerge victorious.
How many times do you have to watch the same movie and not know the ending?
Experts on classified documents know that many people who had top secret classifications have inadvertently kept classified documents. That in itself is not a crime. What is criminal is refusing to return such documents when they are discovered. We know of only one person who did that!
It IS a crime to mishandle ANY classified information. Every piece of it is supposed to be logged and controlled. It is virtually impossible to “inadvertently” keep classified information. And, there is no such thing as a person having a “top secret classification.” Persons undergo background investigations to determine if they should be authorized, on a “need to know” basis, to have ACCESS to a given level of classified information. Very, very, few people are authorized access to TOP SECRET information beyond that they have a “need to know.”
While in office, the President and VP are both original classification authorities and have access to whatever classified material they request.
That statement is meaningless drivel. The VP has no power to declassify unless he originated the classification.
The left is busy doing cleanup behind the elephant. At the same time they are thowing about massive amounts of chaff that is not relevant to the subject.
When it comes to classification and the PRA. The President and Vice President are polar opposite as to the power they wield. The President, is the Executive Branch. Both classification status and the PRA are the sole domain of the President.
That power differential, signifies Biden is in violation of both the PRA and Classification laws
According to the Cambridge English Dictionary, an ultracrepidarian is someone who has no special knowledge of a subject but who expresses an opinion about it. RDKay claims that experts in classified documents know that many people with TS and other high level clearances have inadvertently retained such documents. This is not correct. Having held top secret clearances I had to certify that I had read and understood the regulations that I would have to abide by in receiving and handling classified material. Possible criminal penalties were emphasized.
We all recognize that politicians are a separate class of citizen and are largely exempt from the rules that govern we working stiffs. That does not make RDKay’s statement correct.
RDKAY – Yes, we do know who that person is: “Hillary Clinton”. She destroyed 33k government emails rather than “return” them to the federal government. Trumpl on the other hand, gave 15 boxes of Presidential Records to the NARA, and was co-operating with NARA as to other records until NARA decided to send his records to the FBI.
“Louie!!!” “Why are you closing me down!?!?!?” “I am shocked, shocked! “Gambling going on under this very roof!” “Here are your winnings, sir! “Oh!’ ‘Thank you.”!
“Biden declared that he was “surprised . . .” (JT)
As in: My lawyers were supposed to bury those documents. What the hell am I paying them for?
Biden has a real problem now and the Democrats an even worse problem.
The only surprise to Biden is the public knowing he and his cronies retained highly sensitive classified documents ILLEGALLY.
All of them…Biden, AG Garland, and the Democrats are now going to drink from a poison Chalice no matter which path they take trying to put this latest debacle to bed.
The House is going to investigate this and other scandals and the Democrats can only try to delay and hinder as they no longer control the Committee Chairmanships OR the Subpoena Power.
The days of Adam Schiff and Jerry Nadler and Nancy Pelosi covering up misdeeds are over for the next two years….and possibly for the next four to six years.
Should the Senate go to the Republicans in 2024 the Democrats are going to be headed off into the wilderness to wander…..and wonder what happened.
Spin ends in the Federal Courts….and the Court of Public Opinion has no Appeal Rights…..once convicted in that Court there is no escape.