Differences between Biden, Trump docs stories become more obvious
MSNBCJan 23, 2023
The Facts
Pres. Biden’s personal lawyer, Bob Bauer, revealed on Saturday that six additional classified documents were found at the president’s home in Wilmington, Del. during a search conducted by the Dept. of Justice (DOJ).
DOJ agents on Friday had full access to the president’s home, including "personally handwritten notes, files, papers, binders, memorabilia, to-do lists, schedules, and reminders going back decades.” The DOJ found documents with classification markings and surrounding materials from Biden's time as a senator and some from his tenure as vice president.
The Spin
Democratic narrative
The only similarity between Biden's and Trump’s situations is that both cases involve classified documents. Otherwise, the scenarios are totally different, as Biden has voluntarily informed the DOJ about the discovery of the documents and has been cooperative with the authorities every step of the way. Trump, however, forced the DOJ to get a warrant and conduct a surprise search — we still don’t know if all his documents have been returned.
Republican narrative
Every discovery of documents in Biden’s possession adds to his long list of offenses. If the most recent documents date back to his time in the Senate, then we know he’s been illegally holding them for more than a decade. The White House keeps saying it’s taking this case seriously, but the president has voiced no regrets over the matter, and his spokespeople have been stonewalling questions about the investigation.
Cynical narrative
That two presidents have been called out for possessing documents they shouldn’t have had should shed a light on the issue of overclassification, which has increased exorbitantly over the past decade, creating an administrative nightmare. There must be reforms to the flawed classification system.
