The United States Attorney General, merrick garlandappointed this Thursday an independent prosecutor to investigate the classified documents found in a former office and in a private residence of Joe Biden.
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Garland said he “signed a document appointing Robert Hur as special prosecutor” that “authorizes him to investigate any person or entity that has violated the law” in this case, he said in a brief speech.
What is the case of the secret documents?
“A small number” of classified documents dating from when Joe Biden was Barack Obama’s vice president were found at the president’s private residence in Wilmington, Delaware, the White House reported Thursday.
Days ago, other documents had already been found in the center of a Washington think tank where Biden used to have an office, embarrassing the White House at a time when authorities are investigating alleged mismanagement of documents. classified by former Republican President Donald Trump.
Background
The Cwhite handle faces strong questions since Wednesday following the discovery of secret documents allegedly lost by President Joe Biden, in a case that complicates the authorities’ investigation into another scandal involving the Republican Donald Trump.
Washington also confirmed the discovery of a “small number” of classified documents (apparently around 10) in a locked cabinet at a Washington think tank where Biden used to work when he was vice president of Barack Obama.
This is what is known from the documents that have the White House on alert.
NBC News, followed by other outlets, reported Wednesday that Biden aides had discovered “at least one additional batch” of unsecured documents.
The latest revelation guarantees that the story will not end quicklywith unpredictable consequences for the future of a similar case involving former President Trump, who kept a gigantic number of documents at his Florida residence after leaving the White House in 2021.
Although the case of Trump is more serious – the FBI recovered some 11,000 documents during a search of his residence in August, which could earn him charges for obstruction of justice – Biden’s is embarrassing to say the least for a president who boasts high ethical standards.
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Analysts also say it could introduce complicated political considerations into the investigation against Trump, who is already calling for a similar deal for Biden. “When will the FBI search the many residences of Joe Biden and even the White House?” He wrote on his Truth Social network.
For his part, the Republican leader Kevin McCarthy, asked the United States Congress to open an investigation after the find. “Congress must investigate this case,” he told reporters, denouncing “a new misstep by the Biden administration.”
It’s worth noting that the president appears to have absconded with more classified documents than many reported.
Despite admitting mistakes were made, the White House said the Biden administration at least acted immediately to rectify the situation.
As soon as the first batch of documents was discovered in Biden’s former office at the Penn Biden Center last November, lawyers turned them over to the National Archives, which manages all such materials, the White House counsel’s office said.
Additionally, Biden’s lawyers have been tracking the possible location of other documents lost, he added. Which may explain the discovery of new documents on Wednesday, and perhaps others to come.
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In an attempt to defuse allegations of political interference, Attorney General Merrick Garland has assigned a Chicago federal prosecutor appointed during the Trump administration to review Biden’s missing documents.
A fundamentally different response from Trumpwho did not cooperate with authorities’ attempts to recover the missing documents, leading to the FBI raid.
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In a meeting with the press on Wednesday, the White House spokeswoman, Karine Jean-Pierre, avoided answering questions excusing himself in the ongoing Justice Department investigation.
“We’re going to be limited in what we can say here,” he declared. Pressed repeatedly, she pointed to the statement given by Biden himself on Tuesday during a press conference in Mexico.
Biden does not know the content of the secret documents
People know I take classified documents seriously.
The president of the United States, Joe Biden, assured this Tuesday in Mexico during the North American Leaders Summit that does not know the content of the classifieds They were found in an office.
“I don’t know what the documents contain,” said Biden, who also declared himself surprised by the finding and guaranteed his cooperation to clarify the case. “People know that I take classified documents, classified information seriously”
“I was informed of the discovery and was surprised to learn that there were government documents that were taken to that office (…) we are fully cooperating“said the Democratic president.
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Biden’s special counsel, Richard Sauber, maintained that the documents were in a “locked cabinet” when they were found, he added.
“The White House is cooperating with the National Archives and the Department of Justice,” Sauber said in a statement, describing the find as “a small number of classified-marked documents.” “The documents were not the subject of any prior request or requirement”
Former CIA analyst warns about the case
The real scandal is that the Department of Justice found out a week before the midterm elections and chose to suppress the information
Edward Snowden, a former CIA analyst who revealed details of US espionage programs, said Thursday that Joe Biden had in his possession, after leaving the vice presidency in 2017, more classified documents than many denounced like him himself or others who were accused and sentenced to prison.
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“Worth noting that the President appears to have absconded with more classified documents than many reported. For comparison, Reality Winner was sentenced to 5 years for a single document,” Snowden tweeted.
The former intelligence contractor served more than four years in prison for leaking a classified report on Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election.
“Meanwhile Biden, (Donald) Trump, (Bill) Clinton, (David) Petraeus… these guys have dozens, hundreds (of documents). And they’re not in jail“Added Snowden, who received political asylum in Russia in 2013 after fleeing the US.
The former analyst referred to the discovery by members of Biden’s legal team of new classified documents in an office used by the president just after his time as vice president of Barack Obama (2009-2017).
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“The real scandal is not that Biden had classified documents (…), because unfortunately everyone has done it, but the Department of Justice found out a week before the midterm elections and chose to suppress the information, causing a partisan advantage,” added Snowden, who received last year the Russian nationality.
Santiago Andres Venera Salazar
INTERNATIONAL WRITING
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