David Harsanyi: On Classified Documents, Joe Biden Is Out of Excuses

Every president likely has classified documents stored away. It is unlikely that any president would be successfully prosecuted for stealing them. Nevertheless, Joe Biden has engaged in the same behavior as Donald Trump — perhaps worse, since vice presidents are unable to declassify documents — and precedent and transparency, our very democracy, demanded that Attorney General Merrick Garland name a special counsel to investigate.

None of the explanations given by the media about Biden’s actions in the last few days are valid anymore. One of the most important aspects of the story was highlighted by outlets when it first broke. “distinctions” One of the differences between the incidents was that Biden had less documents than Trump. Biden aides had been shocked to discover that they only had one. “small number” Classified documents “locked” In the personal offices the president “think tank” — as if the location or the number of documents, or the alleged lock, rather than the contents, were the most newsworthy aspect of the story.

We soon discovered that there was a second. “batch” An assortment of classified documents were discovered at “undisclosed” location. Biden aides began meticulously searching through boxes in order to ensure that the law was followed. NBC News reported, “the search was described as exhaustive, with the goal of getting a full accounting of all classified documents that may have inadvertently been packed in boxes when Biden cleared out of the vice president’s office space in January 2017.” It is a comforting thought to know that the Bidens adhere to all laws.

Yesterday, we were informed that classified information found in a serious office setting is more secure than documents that are just found. “lying around” There was a major difference between these two cases. Biden’s lawyer today says that “small number” It was also found that classified documents could be found “locked” Biden’s garage, and an “adjacent” His Wilmington, Delaware home. (Don’t worry; the president assures that it was stored safely next to his Corvette. It’s possible to find another. “small number” Perhaps we have all the documents, or even a whole cache.

Journalists are naturally curious as to how the classified documents made it into Joe’s garage. You see, the guy had a D.C.-based think tank office. Moreover, the initial documents were alleged to have been discovered before midterms, and yet we’re only hearing about new ones months later — and in convenient dribs and drabs.

Shortly after CBS’s original story, CNN published a puff piece of four-byline reporting that documents found at the think tank had been related to Ukraine, Iran, and the U.K. We also found out this week in a soft-peddled report from The New York Times that Biden had, despite his claims that he didn’t know anything about Hunter’s foreign entanglements. Remember that Obama officials also raised concerns regarding the Biden family business. Do you think those Ukrainian documents could have been embarrassing for President Obama? Seems a reasonable question.

Now, what’s most important is that we are instructed by Biden “immediately” I contacted the authorities. “cooperating.” Is it possible (and I’m just speculating here) that Biden or his aides are lying to you? Cooperating is one thing. But it’s not all. Trump can hire a lawyer to fight the Archives over documents. He might have a case. Maybe Biden just chose the perfect time to collaborate with his own government to avoid transparency. This is not the case. “immediately” The president has been in possession for almost seven years of classified documents. He handed them over. How is the Justice Department able to know that there aren’t any more documents? How can it be certain that Biden didn’t intentionally store them in his garage, as Trump did? Because he claims so.

It’s funny to see the obvious attempts to minimize the damage. Biden isn’t guilty of any wrongdoing, so there’s nothing to be afraid. Isn’t that the way it works?

David Harsanyi serves as a senior editor for The Federalist. Harsanyi is a national syndicated columnist, author of five books, the most recent being The Federalist. “Eurotrash: Why America Must Reject the Failed Ideas of a Dying Continent.” His work has appeared in National Review as well Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, Reason, New York Post, and many other publications. Follow him @davidharsanyi on Twitter.

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