The revelation that the President of the United States, Joe Bidenkept classified documents from his time as vice president of Barack Obama (2009-2017), both in a private office in Washington and in the garage of his Delaware home, have led the US attorney general, Merrick Garland, to appoint a special prosecutor to investigate this case.
Research gives wings to the Republicans, what they look with a magnifying glass that there is no difference in treatment between this case and that of the documents, also secret, found in August at former President Donald Trump’s residence in Mar-a-Lago (Florida). An investigation that they consider had a political motivation. “When are you going to an FBI raid to search the numerous houses of Joe Biden, maybe even the White House?” Trump wondered on social networks shortly after breaking the news that splashed his rival.
for democratswho have insisted that Donald Trump should face criminal prosecution for storing classified documents in his Florida home, the news is devastating, although they have insisted that the two incidents are different legally, but they recognize that it can pose a political problem for Biden. The finding has now been made public, but It happened on November 2, a week before the elections. mid-term, according to The Economist. Now, prosecute Trump seems even less likely.
What similarities are there in the two cases?
- Both Biden and Trump improperly took classified papers after leaving office. According to the Presidential Records Law, they must be sent to the National Archives and Records Administration once they leave power where they are stored securely, as he recalls. The New York Times.
- In both situations, Attorney General Garland has appointed two special investigators to elucidate the responsibilities and they have some independence from the Department of Justice. The Trump case has been handled by the lawyer since November Jack Smith and that of Biden, the former federal lawyer Robert How.
What differences are there?
The number of documents and how both leaders responded to the finding.
- The FBI discovered More than 11,000 documents and photos of the Trump Administration at Mar-a-Lago. They reportedly included highly classified intelligence material. The papers found in Biden’s possession are from his time as Barack Obama’s vice president. for now there are two lots. Lawyers for the current president found the first while cleaning one of their old offices in Washington. Three days a second “small” batch was found in the garage of the family home in WilmingtonDelaware.
- Trump and his advisers they repeatedly refused to return the documents, which led to the FBI raid to recover them and it is not ruled out that they destroyed some documents. In the case of Biden, it was his lawyers who communicated the problem and the White House claims to be “fully cooperating” and claims they returned them to the National Archives as soon as they were discovered. According to BBCthese differences could have significant legal implications.
What do the documents contain and how many are classified?
- In neither case is the content entirely clear. The Trump documents allegedly include the nuclear secrets of a foreign power. In those of Biden, according to CNN, there would be United States intelligence memos and informative materials about Ukraine, Iran or the United Kingdom.
- Court records say there was 184 classified documents they were in the 15 boxes that the National Archives initially recovered from Mar-a-Lago. Trump’s team delivered 38 more after the subpoena and the FBI found another 103 in its search. In the case of Biden, CBS reported that there were about a dozen in the office and “a small number” in the garage.
- Among the Trump documents were some dated after his presidency, suggesting that he had them when he was no longer licensed. Everybody Biden’s appear to be dated while he held the position of vice president.
How did the documents get there?
- This week, the president Biden was “surprised” to learn that there were classified papers They were transferred to that office. The White House has suggested, according to The New York Times, that it is possible that the boxes with the documents were sent to both places “during the transition of 2017”.
- In the case of Trump, it is known that he routinely took documents from the Oval Office to the residential areas of the White House. During the chaos of his final days in office, after trying to hold on to power, some documents may have been packed with personal itemsas clothing, and shipped to Mar-a-Lago.
There are still many unanswered questions. Why had the documents not been returned? What information did they contain? Why, in the case of Biden, if the first batch was found in november and the rest on december 20th, it hadn’t come to light until this week? For now, we will have to wait.