The malaise turns into a crisis. On January 9, we learned of the discovery of classified documents in an institute created by Joe Biden after his departure from the White House in 2017. Thursday, January 12, the presidency confirmed that others had been found in a second place. This is Joe Biden’s home in Wilmington, Delaware. “A small number” was in a storage compartment in the garage, according to a press release from Richard Sauber, special adviser to the American president. A one-page document was also identified in a “adjacent room” which would be, according to Joe Biden himself, his “personal library”.
In a solemn declaration to the press, the Attorney General (Minister of Justice), Merrick Garland, announced the appointment of a special adviser to investigate the case. This is Robert Hur, former prosecutor of Maryland and ex-executive of the ministry, also passed through the private sector. Mr. Garland detailed the sequence of events, since November 2 and the discovery of the first package of documents, a dozen notes located in a cupboard au Penn Biden Center for Diplomacy and Global Engagementin the heart of Washington.
This chronology is important for the administration, which claims an exemplary attitude. On November 4, the National Archives, informed by the White House, alerted the Attorney General’s office. On November 9, the federal police (FBI) began their evaluation. On November 14, Merrick Garland asked a magistrate appointed by Donald Trump, John Lausch, to examine the documents in question. Finally, on December 20, Joe Biden’s legal advisers notified the courts that additional classified notes had been found in the garage. The ultimate find, in the library, wasn’t announced until Thursday morning. On the other hand, the checks in the family residence of Rehoboth Beach gave nothing. It was the last possible destination when Joe Biden’s business moved from the White House, where he had spent eight years as Barack Obama’s vice president (2009-2017).
Republicans denounce the silence of the administration
It was on the recommendations of John Lausch that Merrick Garland decided to appoint a special adviser. This recourse gives, in the short term, a new dimension to the crisis and reinforces the interrogations on a proven negligence as regards confidential documents. We do not know the degree of classification of the notes, nor their number and date, nor the subjects treated. It’s also unclear what their exact journey was, in six years, or why the White House waited until January 9 to confirm the first discovery made two months earlier. This is one of the most insistent arguments of the Republicans, who denounce the administration’s silence before the midterm elections on November 8.
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