The big problem with the Joe Biden documents story
The big problem with the Joe Biden documents story
by Byron York, Washington Examiner, January 16, 2023
This is a good explanation and compilation of the known information on the ‘found’ classified documents. You can subscribe to Bryon York here. -Ellen
The big problem with the Joe Biden documents story. This could be the shortest newsletter ever. The biggest problem with the Joe Biden documents story is this: We know only what Joe Biden's lawyers have told us. And the appointment of a special counsel to investigate the case will make the problem worse.
Now, some elaboration. The initial fact that Biden, after his term as vice president ended, kept some classified documents in his possession was revealed by a team of Biden lawyers. In making a public statement, they noted that the discovery of the classified documents, on Nov. 2, 2022, in Biden's old office at the Penn Biden Center for Diplomacy and Global Engagement in Washington, D.C., was made by...a team of Biden lawyers.
That alone raises some questions. Biden's vice presidency ended on Jan. 20, 2017. He began using the Penn Biden office in mid-2017. He became president on Jan. 20, 2021. With the Oval Office and plenty of workspace right downstairs, he no longer needed the Penn Biden office. So why was it not until Nov. 2, 2022, that his lawyers were emptying the old office? And by the way, why does it take a team of lawyers to clear out an office? Many people use movers.
Biden's lawyers did not tell us. They said simply, "The documents were discovered when the president's personal attorneys were packing files housed in a locked closet to prepare to vacate office space at the Penn Biden Center in Washington." But why were they doing it at that moment? "Beware when the narrative starts in the middle," advises Jason Foster, a former longtime investigative counsel in the Senate and now head of Empower Oversight. "It may mean someone doesn't want you to know how it began."
Indeed, the Biden documents story starts in the middle. We don't know how it began. How did the classified documents end up in the former vice president's possession? We don't know.
The same questions apply to the documents found in Biden's home in Wilmington, Delaware. How did they get there? When did they get there? Did Biden himself use them? Did he move them around once they were there? Again, what we know comes from the president's lawyers. Richard Sauber, a special counsel to the president who the White House says was hired to deal with investigations from the new Republican-controlled House, released a statement Thursday saying that after the discovery of the Penn Biden Center documents, "the president's lawyers have searched the president's Wilmington and Rehoboth Beach, Delaware residences — the other locations where files from his vice presidential office might have been shipped in the course of the 2017 transition."
Even though the Penn Biden Center discovery occurred on Nov. 2, 2022, Sauber said the search of the Delaware houses was completed "last night," meaning Wednesday night, Jan. 11, 2023. Why did Biden's lawyers wait so long to search the houses? Biden's lawyers did not say. They did say they were "coordinating closely" with the Justice Department.
In any event, Biden's lawyers said they discovered a "small number" of classified documents at the president's house in Wilmington. "All but one of these documents were found in storage space in the president's Wilmington residence garage," the lawyers said. "One document consisting of one page was discovered among stored materials in an adjacent room." The president himself, in remarks at the White House Thursday, added that the adjacent room was his "personal library."
Those White House remarks, by the way, were the ones in which Biden defended the storage of classified material in a garage close to his beloved 1967 Corvette sports car. "My Corvette is in a locked garage, OK?" Biden said in response to a question from Fox News's Peter Doocy. "So it's not like they're sitting out in the street." With that, Biden seemed to suggest that security for a really cool vintage car is certainly sufficient for classified documents, too.
The documents in the Wilmington house could present another problem for Biden, which is that Biden's son Hunter, when he was addicted to crack and in a downward spiral, was living in the house when the documents were in the garage. That could be a problem in two senses. One, Hunter Biden, always trying to make some money off his father's names and connections, had a lot of shady foreign associates. And two, Hunter had what you might call a lax attitude toward information security. After all, he left a laptop filled with all sorts of information at a repair shop and never returned to claim it, leading to more problems than anyone could have imagined.
Right now, beyond a very few details furnished by the Justice Department in the announcement of the appointment of special counsel Robert Hur, everything the public knows about the classified documents has come from the Biden team. And now, it is a good bet that the appointment of Hur will make information even harder to come by. The existence of a special investigation into Biden's handling of classified documents will allow the White House to refuse to answer reasonable questions about the investigation.
In Friday's White House briefing, press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre was asked about the investigation and told reporters, "I would refer you to the Department of Justice." Of course, the Department of Justice will not comment. And when House Republicans seek information from the DOJ, the answer will be that it cannot comment on an ongoing investigation. Special counsel investigations make it harder, not easier, for the public to know what is going on.
So go back to the original point: The biggest problem with the Joe Biden documents story is that we know only what Joe Biden's lawyers have told us. And that is just the way Biden wants it.
by Byron York, Washington Examiner
I think you’ll also enjoy this timeline by Sharyl Attkisson. You can subscribe to her newsletter here.- Ellen
Chronology of President Biden’s classified document saga
Sharyl Attkisson News Analysis
Confused? No wonder.
The discovery of classified documents in President Biden's possession was covered up from the public for months, at least. We're left to take the word of the people involved, and Biden's own representatives, as to timing and details of event with no independent way to confirm them. As of this publication we have been informed of four separate document discoveries dating back to last November.
Far less significant discoveries have merited SWAT-style raids by the FBI. But here, according to White House accounts, Biden's own lawyers have been permitted to continue searching, even after multiple discoveries.
The Presidential Records Act requires all presidential and vice-presidential documents to be transferred to the National Archives once the official leaves office. Classified information is not permitted to be in private possession outside of strict rules and controls.
Unlike the case of former President Trump's documents, which is also under investigation, President Biden is not claiming to have had a right to possess the classified documents. In fact, he says he does not know their contents. Trump, on the other hand, had been actively negotiating with authorities, arguing he had a right to the documents, when the FBI raided his Mar-a-Lago home on August 8, confiscated and photographed the documents, then leaked information and photos to the press. Trump has said he used his presidential authority to declassify the documents in question prior to leaving office.
Biden Classified Document Timeline
Sept. 18, 2022: Biden grants an interview to 60 Minutes commenting on the Trump document case. In part, Biden said he thought, "'How that could possibly happen? How one, anyone could be that irresponsible.' And I thought, 'What data was in there that may compromise sources and methods? By that I mean names of people who helped or' the, et cetera. And it just, totally irresponsible."
Nov. 2, 2022: Discovery #1
"Roughly" 10 classified documents are reportedly found at Biden's "Penn Biden Center for Diplomacy and Global Engagement" in Washington DC. Biden's lawyer claimed other Biden lawyers "were packing files housed in a locked closet to prepare to vacate office space" when the documents were discovered. They were reportedly in a folder in a box co-mingled with unclassified papers.
It was less than a week before the Congressional Midterms elections and Biden was reportedly notified, but he and the White House kept the discovery secret from the public.
Biden's attorney says the White House counsel's office notified the National Archives.
Thurs. Nov. 3, 2022: The National Archives reportedly take the materials and notify the Justice Dept. It's unclear what happened to the documents at that point.
Tues. Dec. 20, 2022: Discovery #2
More classified documents are reportedly discovered at a former private officer of Biden's. This discovery is also kept under wraps.
Sat. Jan. 7, 2023: Republicans in the House of Representative elect their Speaker, or their leader, allowing them to commence business as the majority.
Weds. Jan. 11, 2023: Discovery #3
Biden's attorneys reportedly discover "a" classified document in a room adjacent to Biden's garage at his Delaware home, though the room was not further described.
Thurs. Jan. 12: Discovery #4
Five more pages of classified documents are reportedly discovered at Biden's Delaware home, though the discovery is not revealed to the public at this time. Biden's lawyer says he, the lawyer, had traveled there "to facilitate providing the document the President's personal counsel found on Wednesday to the Justice Department" and that "While I was transferring it to the [Dept. of Justice] officials who accompanied me, five additional pages with classification markings were discovered among the material with it, for a total of six pages. The DOJ officials with me immediately took possession of them."
Also on Thurs. Jan. 12, Biden Attorney General Merrick Garland appoints the U.S. attorney in Chicago to see if an investigation should be opened into the Biden documents snafu.
Sat. Jan. 14: The White House announces Thursday's document discovery.
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