Classified documents from Biden's time as VP discovered in private office, source says

[Poiuyt]

Several classified documents from President Joe Biden’s time as vice president were discovered last fall in a private office, a source with knowledge of the matter tells CNN.

The National Archives has referred the matter to the Justice Department for further investigation, the source told CNN.

Biden’s lawyers found the government materials in November while closing out a Washington, DC-based office that Biden used as part of his relationship with the University of Pennsylvania, where he was an honorary professor from 2017 to 2019, the source said.

Fewer than a dozen classified documents were found at Biden’s office, the source said. It is unclear what the documents pertain to or why they were taken to Biden’s private office. Federal officeholders are required by law to relinquish official documents and classified records when their government service ends.

https://us.cnn.com/2023/01/09/politics/joe-biden-classified-documents-upenn/index.html

This may be nothing, but with what's going on at Mar a Lago, this is not a good development.

[maxsolomon]

1. NARA case dismissed!

Both sides both sides both sides both sides both sides both sides both sides both sides both sides both sides both sides both sides both sides both sides both sides both sides both sides both sides both sides both sides both sides both sides both sides both sides both sides

[Chainfire]

2. Fasten your seatbelts, there is turbulence ahead....

[Walleye]

3. I assume he didn't refuse to give them back

[Effete Snob]

10. They were reported as soon as found

This is a nothingburger with extra nothing.

[Walleye]

13. Nothing burger smeared with maga ketchup

[moonscape]

4. Uch ... what awful timing :(

If I was Qanon I’d say tfg planted them

[Catherine Vincent]

5. And they just find this out now?

Something is coming. I smell bs.

[Frasier Balzov]

7. Do I call b.s. when the table is being set?

No, I sit down to eat.

[dweller]

8. Perhaps preemptive measures

for the inevitable indictment for the crime of stolen docs from Merde Loada?

The Pisswig Papers caper is nigh … 🤔



✌🏻

[mn9driver]

6. There is currently no evidence that Biden knew anything about it.

Based on what was reported, this is likely to become a big fat nothingburger.

Except in MAGA land. There, it will be the end of the fucking world.

[SoCalDavidS]

14. Sounds Exactly Like What Teflon Man Is Going To Say

What evidence will there be that he knew anything either?

It wasn't long ago that people right here on DU were asserting how it didn't matter whether he knew or not, the mere presence of the documents was a crime in itself.

I never expected anything to come of the investigation into Teflon Man, so perhaps that's good news for President Biden. Although, Democrats are usually held to a different standard.

[mn9driver]

18. Not accurate.

In the Trump case, there is quite a bit of evidence that he was aware of the documents. Mens Rea is important to the criminal prosecution of this crime, and if the DOJ cannot support that, then they would probably not bring charges. I think Mens Rea can be supported by abundant evidence in this case. We will see if the special counsel agrees.

In the Biden case, we have nothing but an initial report. It is way too early to categorically state that Biden was aware of the documents, much less trying to hide them or lie about them.

Your mileage may vary.

[underthematrix]

9. It was handled the way REAL law abiding ethical personal attorneys handle

such instances.

Also this crossed my mind. I fucking hate to even write it but Putin is Trump's handler so there's a very real possibility it was planted.

[choie]

11. Oh fuck.

Terrible timing.

[Mr.Bill]

12. Is it possible that Biden still had a security clearance?

Trump doesn't.

And who used that office when Biden was VP?

[Elessar Zappa]

15. This doesn't sound like a big deal to me.

[bigtree]

16. Biden's team cooperated with NARA, which later came to view the situation as a mistake

...no effort to conceal, no obfuscation, no crime.

People trying to mesh this with Trump's repeated obstruction and false representations to investigators are hoping we don't recognize the difference.

Bradley P. Moss @BradMossEsq 1h
If you can’t grasp the difference between finding improperly stored classified docs that you immediately turn over to NARA vs. obstructing and lying in a federal investigation regarding improperly stored classified docs, I cannot help you.

[Vinca]

17. Just found in November? That sounds very convenient. Could they have been planted?

[MichMan]

20. Wouldn't the news have been reported before the mid terms then ?

[Vinca]

22. Not if it was after the election the first week of November. Just seems to be such a coincidence.

Madge is just chomping at the bit to start an impeachment and the GOP Congress members probably spend their free time building a gallows. It's just very weird timing for this sort of thing.

[MichMan]

23. According to the link it was November 3

Last edited Tue Jan 10, 2023, 05:48 PM - Edit history (2)

I could be looking at this completely wrong, but it seems that if the release was targeted to inflict the most damage on Dems, it would have been done then, not two months later.

[Vinca]

25. Maybe that was the intention, but it didn't go as planned. Probably just a wild thought traversing

through my head, but it's so plausible to me that they'd get someone to pick the locks and plant stuff. I'm curious to see if any other Biden locations turn up anything.

[wishstar]

19. This CBS article has more detail, explaining it was a "think tank" staffed by his inner circle

Most of the news reports I've seen other than CNN are saying that the docs were found at his "think tank" which as this CBS article describes was dedicated to foreign policy issues and staffed by Anthony Blinken and other former Obama officials. So undoubtedly several staffers had access to the VP office. The CBS article says that Joe claimed to not know the contents of the documents found when he was told about them.

https://www.cbsnews.com/losangeles/news/biden-center-classified-documents/

[Shanti Shanti Shanti]

21. Has the House begun impeachment proceedings yet? You know they want to...

[GoodRaisin]

24. Get ready for a 2 year fake investigation by the House.

Fox News will inflate this into high crimes and misdemeanors. Isn’t it amazing this news comes right as the new RW majority goes into session.

[LetMyPeopleVote]

26. CNN rushed to scandalize new reporting on classified documents found at former Biden office

CNN has become a clone of Fox News under the new management team

Link to tweet

https://www.mediamatters.org/cnn/cnn-rushed-scandalize-new-reporting-classified-documents-found-former-biden-office

fter news broke that classified documents from his vice presidential days had been found in President Joe Biden’s former office, CNN rushed to sensationalize the story and drew inaccurate parallels to the FBI’s retrieval of documents held by former President Donald Trump at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida.

On Monday night between when the news broke and 11 p.m., CNN dedicated 1 hour and 47 minutes of coverage to the story, more than sevenfold MSNBC’s 14 minutes of coverage and over three and a half times Fox News’ 29 minutes.

?VersionId=q0Od_MhkIqtM2D8AfOdrGSidRsSBPo2o

One particularly poor example in CNN’s programming came just before prime time, on Erin Burnett OutFront. As the story was breaking, anchor Erin Burnett emphasized that Biden was legally required to return the documents when his term as vice president ended in 2017. Burnett pointed out the differences between the FBI seizing documents at Mar-a-Lago following a court-approved search warrant and Biden’s legal team immediately turning over the documents to the National Archives when they found them. But CNN’s coverage implied hypocrisy on Biden's part by playing a September 2022 clip of the president rhetorically asking “how anyone could be that irresponsible” in regard to Trump withholding classified material at Mar-a-Lago. CNN also included an image of the classified documents found by the FBI at Trump’s residence during the segment without providing context, potentially misleading viewers.

From the January 9, 2023, edition of CNN's Erin Burnett OutFront

Burnett then brought out CNN correspondent Jamie Gangel, who while mentioning the differences between the Trump story and Biden’s, framed the news as “a political nightmare for the Biden administration” and “politically something that the Republicans and Donald Trump are going to make hay in.”

In response to a question from Burnett about “how much of a gift” and how “transformational” the new story is for Trump, Gangel stated that this is “a huge political gift for Trump." And despite the distinct differences between the documents found at Trump’s home and Biden’s office, Gangel posited that “it is going to be very important for Justice [Department], and as much as the National Archives plays a role here, to really let the public know what was in here. Is that nuance going to cut through? I don’t think so.”

Link to tweet