Hunter Biden enters the garage where dad keeps his Corvette (and classified material)

By Philip Wegman for Real Clear Politics

Shortly after the White House announced that a second set of classified documents from the Obama administration had been discovered at the president’s Delaware home — and Attorney General Merrick Garland announced the appointment of a second special prosecutor into misclassified presidential papers — Joe Biden tried to reassure the nation by telling reporters that the sensitive documents had closed the door.

“Yeah, so is my Corvette,” Biden told Fox News’ Peter Doocy, referring to his beloved 1967 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray.

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Garland at the Department of Justice announced that it has assigned US Attorney John Lash Jr. to conduct an initial investigation to advise on whether a special counsel is warranted.

“I chose him to conduct the preliminary investigation because I was confident that his experience would ensure that it was done professionally and expeditiously,” he said.

“Based on Mr. Lash’s initial investigation, I have concluded that, under the Special Counsel Rules, there is a public interest in appointing a special counsel,” the attorney general concluded.

Other than Biden, the White House has not disclosed who had access to the documents found in Delaware or the classified intelligence discovered at the Penn Biden Center for Diplomacy and Global Engagement.

But his son Hunter Biden, who is under federal criminal investigation for tax evasion and House Republicans plan to subpoena him in connection with his foreign business dealings, had access to the garage. At least, according to previous statements made by Biden.

As vice president in 2016, Biden and his Corvette appeared on the season premiere of CNBC’s “Jay Leno’s Garage.” Showing off the classic, which was a wedding gift from his father, Biden told Leno that his sons had restored the vehicle to showroom condition.

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“My two sons, Beau, passed away and my son Hunter decided to rebuild the engine for me as a Christmas present,” he explained.

Although the administration has promised transparency, the White House has not answered questions about how classified intelligence got into the Biden family home in Delaware or the president’s private office at the Penn Biden Center in Washington, DC.

“It’s an ongoing process again. We’re going to respect the process,” Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters Wednesday. “As the president said, his team handled it the right way and we’re not going to move forward with the process from here.”

Biden keeps his Corvette at his home in Wilmington. He told Leno a second time on the show in 2022, because the Secret Service doesn’t allow current presidents to drive their own cars, “Once in a while, I take the Corvette out of the garage and drive down the driveway.”

Because of the president’s own words, Corvette and classified documents are now linked. At the White House on Thursday, Biden said he takes sensitive intelligence “very seriously.”

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“As I said earlier this week, and by the way, my Corvette is in a locked garage, so it’s not like they’re sitting on the street,” he continued, referring to the documents.

“People know that I take classified documents and classified material very seriously,” the president added. “I said we are cooperating, fully cooperating with the Justice Department’s investigation.”

The controversy continues as Republicans cry foul and accuse the DOJ of a “double standard” after showing how armed FBI agents raided former President Trump’s Mar-a-Lago home in search of classified documents. According to the White House, Biden, unlike Trump, voluntarily turned over the documents to the National Archives shortly after they were discovered.

Syndicated with permission from RealClearWire.

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