Rep. Chris Stewart said Sunday that the defense offered by President Biden that he unknowingly was in possession of classified materials from his time as vice president is “nonsense.”
The Utah Republican did not buy Mr. Biden’s explanation, given the red classified markings that typically accompany such sensitive documents.
“Every single page has a classification marking on it. This isn’t the kind of thing that you just sit on your desk and you think, ‘Oh, I forgot that they’re classified.’ It’s very clear that they’re classified,” Mr. Stewart said on CBS’ “Face the Nation.” “For those who think that, ‘Well, the president didn’t realize that he had those in his possession.’ It just is nonsense. Of course, he knew that he had them. They’re so obvious.”
Republicans have accused Democrats of hypocrisy when it comes to Mr. Biden’s apparent mishandling of classified documents vs. Donald Trump and the top secret materials seized from his South Florida Mar-a-Lago estate, a comparison rejected by Democrats because of the former president’s refusal to return such materials.
House Republicans have also promised to investigate Mr. Biden on the heels of three batches of classified documents discovered at private locations in Delaware and Washington, D.C.
The Department of Justice has appointed separate special counsels to probe both Mr. Trump and Mr. Biden.
SEE ALSO: Adam Schiff says GOP is ‘hypocritical’ in Biden vs. Trump classified docs
“The director of national intelligence can choose not to comment to the American people. But she can’t choose not to comment to us,” Mr. Stewart said. “We have requested an analysis of these documents, the potential harm that they may have caused. And I expect that we’ll receive that within the next few weeks … It’s important for us to understand the potential damage to these documents and these documents being available.”
• Ramsey Touchberry can be reached at rtouchberry@washingtontimes.com.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.