House Republicans dug in their heels Sunday over President Biden’s apparent mishandling of classified documents with promises to conduct their own investigation and to provide oversight of the Justice Department’s probe as Democrats conceded that the saga is troubling.
Mr. Biden’s attorneys discovered a third set of classified material in his private possession Saturday, drawing searing criticism from Republican lawmakers and charges of hypocrisy in the wake of the federal seizure last year of similar sensitive documents from former President Donald Trump’s private Mar-a-Lago residence.
“It just shows the hypocrisy and why the American public does not trust their government,” House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, California Republican, said on Fox News’ “Sunday Morning Futures.” “We will have a role in overseeing what’s transpiring here. What’s real concerning to me is how justice is applied, and is it applied equally? Why do you raid President Trump?”
Mr. Biden said he was unaware he had the materials stemming from his time as vice president, but Rep. Chris Stewart, Utah Republican, labeled that defense as “nonsense.”
House Oversight and Accountability Committee Chair James Comer, Kentucky Republican, questioned why the discovery was not publicized until last week when Mr. Biden’s attorneys first found the documents days before the November midterm elections. He sent a letter to White House Chief of Staff Ronald Klain on Sunday demanding the release of the visitor log for Mr. Biden’s residence in Wilmington, Delaware, where some of the materials were found.
“This is the same type of investigation that the Democrats were so outraged and launched and demanded happen to President Trump. What we see with President Biden is there are multiple locations,” Mr. Comer said on CNN’s “State of the Union.” “We would never have known about the possession of the classified documents, were it not for investigative reporting by CBS that somehow got leaked, to determine that this had happened prior to the election. The administration hasn’t been transparent about what’s going on with President Biden’s possession of classified documents, and we just want equal treatment.”
SEE ALSO: Rep. James Comer asks why discovery of Biden classified docs wasn’t publicized in November
Even Democrats expressed concern about national security risks and acknowledged that the episode is “embarrassing” for Mr. Biden.
Unauthorized removal and possession of classified documents is illegal under federal law.
The White House acknowledged over the weekend that additional classified materials were found at his home in Wilmington, marking the third such time that attorneys for the president discovered sensitive documents among his belongings. Other documents were found in his home’s garage and his former offices at the Penn Biden Center in Washington from when he was vice president.
The Justice Department has appointed a special counsel to investigate, as was done with Mr. Trump’s apparent mishandling of classified documents.
“It’s certainly embarrassing,” Sen. Debbie Stabenow, Michigan Democrat who is not seeking reelection next year, said on NBC’s “Meet the Press.” “It’s embarrassing that you would find a small number of documents, certainly not on purpose. They don’t think it’s the right thing, and they have been moving to correct it, working with the Department of Justice, working with everyone involved with the [National] Archives. It’s one of those moments that obviously they wish hadn’t happened.”
Rep. Adam B. Schiff, the California Democrat who was chair of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence in the previous Congress, said the intelligence community needs to determine potential damages to national security from having such sensitive materials in the president’s private residence and office.
SEE ALSO: Adam Schiff says GOP is ‘hypocritical’ in Biden vs. Trump classified docs
“I don’t think we can exclude the possibility without knowing more of the facts,” he said on ABC’s “This Week.” “I’d like to know what these documents were. I’d like to know what the [intelligence community’s] assessment is, whether there was any risk of exposure and what the harm would be and whether any mitigation needs to be done.”
• Ramsey Touchberry can be reached at rtouchberry@washingtontimes.com.
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