The White House faces strong questions following the discovery of secret documents allegedly lost by President Joe Biden, in a case that complicates the authorities’ investigation into another scandal of the same nature involving Republican Donald Trump.
Text: Cristóbal Vásquez / RFI and AFP
Earlier this week, lawyers for President Joe Biden discovered nearly 10 confidential documents at the Penn Biden Center for Diplomacy and Global Engagement, an institute in central Washington that he created after serving as vice president.
In the last few hours, the US president’s lawyers found more confidential information elsewhere. This was revealed by sources who preferred to remain anonymous.
Biden’s case is similar to Trump’s
So far the White House has confirmed the discovery of a “small number” of classified documents in a locked cabinet at a Washington analysis center where Biden used to work when he was vice president of Barack Obama. The latest reveal guarantees that the story won’t end quickly.
A similar case involves former President Donald Trump, who kept a gigantic number of documents at his Florida residence after leaving the White House in 2021. These discoveries come weeks after United States Attorney General Merrick Garland named Jack Smith special counsel to conduct an investigation into the mishandling of classified documents that were brought to Mar-a-Lago after Trump ended his presidency.
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Although Trump’s case is more serious, Biden’s is embarrassing to say the least for a president who boasts high ethical standards. Analysts also say it could introduce complicated political considerations into the investigation against Trump, who is already calling for similar treatment for the US president. “When will the FBI search the many residences of Joe Biden and even the White House?” the former president wrote on his Truth Social network.
immediate cooperation
Despite admitting mistakes were made, the White House said the Biden administration at least moved 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 missing documents, which may explain the discovery of new documents on Wednesday, and perhaps more to come. It is worth mentioning that Biden’s lawyers notified government agencies, and the Department of Justice has already opened an investigation to find out the causes.
In an attempt to defuse allegations of political interference, Merrick Garland turned to US Attorney John R. Lausch Jr. of Chicago, a Trump administration holdover, to review the discovery of classified Biden documents.
Biden himself assured on Tuesday that he was unaware of the content of the discovered documents. “People know that I take classified documents, classified information seriously,” he said.
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