By Casey Harper (The Center Square)
President Joe Biden has come under fire after news reports that classified documents from his time as vice president were found at the Penn Biden Center for Diplomacy and Global Engagement in Washington.
According to CBS News, Attorney General Merrick Garland has turned the case over to the US attorney in Chicago to investigate.
Republicans launched accusations of hypocrisy suggesting that federal law enforcement officials raided former President Donald Trump’s residence for classified documents.
“Why hasn’t the FBI raided Joe Biden’s house?” said Rep. Dan Crenshaw, R-Texas.
However, Biden’s defenders argue that Trump was warned by the National Archives and Records Administration before making the referral to federal law enforcement.
“The difference is that Biden’s lawyers cooperated [and] Unlike Trump, who reached out to national records after unearthing classified documents [and] “His circle interferes with the investigation of classified documents at Mar-a-Lago,” said Olivia Troy, a national security expert who worked for former Vice President Mike Pence in the White House. “No matter what, the right wing will distort it. [and] Use it.”
RELATED: Trump calls on FBI to raid Biden’s homes after classified documents related to Ukraine, Iran, UK found in his office
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Critics have pushed back, saying there is more to the story and raising questions about the think tank that compiled them.
“Biden stole classified documents while he was VP and stored them in his think tank,” said Rep. Andy Biggs, R-Texas. “The VP has no authority to declassify classified documents. And this ‘think tank’ received $54 million in funding from the CCP.
It’s unclear to what degree Biden was personally involved in maintaining and collecting the documents, but some Republicans blasted him, saying he knowingly violated the law. When Trump came under fire for similar allegations last year, the media and other officials speculated that he might end up behind bars.
“Biden knew for years that he was storing highly classified documents in his personal office,” said Rep. Ronny Jackson, R-Texas. “They knew it when FBI agents were raiding Mar-a-Lago and they knew it when they hired a biased special counsel. They knew it the whole time but their DOJ goons were harassing Trump.
RELATED: Oversight Committee Begins Investigation of Biden’s Classified Documents, NARA
Some still haven’t weighed in, but Republicans overall echoed the call for accountability Tuesday.
“Joe Biden took classified documents from the White House when he was vice president,” said Rep. Marjorie Taylor Green, R-Georgia. [and] NARA cannot sweep this under the rug and harass Trump.
Syndicated with permission from The Center Square.
