House Oversight Committee Ranking Member Jamie Raskin blasted any attempt by Republicans to draw comparisons between Trump and Biden on their handling of classified documents.
What did Rep. Raskin say about Biden and classified documents?
Rep. Raskin (D-MD) said in a statement provided to PoliticusUSA:
Today's report revealed that the White House, President Biden, and former staff members actively cooperated with the special prosecutor's investigation. The White House's decision not to exercise privilege on any portion of the special counsel's report reflects the President's fundamental commitment to cooperation and transparency. After a thorough year-long investigation, the special counsel concluded that President Biden was keeping a small number of records containing classified information, including on his personal laptop. According to what the special counsel confirmed, President Biden's conduct, which is very similar to the handling of classified information by former Vice President Pence and former President Ronald Reagan during their terms, does not justify criminal charges.
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To be clear, as the special counsel's report explicitly states, there is no comparison here with former President Trump's conduct. Trump thwarted the efforts of the National Archives and law enforcement agencies by intentionally hiding hundreds of government documents, lying about their whereabouts, and recruiting others to destroy and conceal evidence. President Trump knowingly and unlawfully retained hundreds of presidential and confidential records, storing them in bathrooms, ballrooms, offices and other locations at Mar-A-Lago and repeatedly displaying them to his guests.
Oversight Democrats are prepared to work bipartisanly to enact legislative reforms that strengthen the preservation of presidential records by creating greater safeguards to prevent inadvertent preservation of presidential records. We will also continue to explore ways to address the more difficult problem of government officials intentionally stealing and concealing classified and top secret government documents.
Why are Biden's and Trump's cases different?
The difference between the Biden and Trump classified documents cases is deliberate intent.
Special Prosecutor Heo believed that there was no deliberate intention on the part of President Biden to not disclose classified documents in violation of the law.
The full timeline of President Trump's interactions with the federal government on the classified documents case shows the former president's intent to intentionally break the law and maintain classified information that is property of the U.S. government. Trump lied and said he had the documents. Trump refused to release classified information. Trump lied about the documents he had. When Trump claimed the documents were his and refused to return government property, he knowingly misled the government.
Special Prosecutor Heo had so little evidence against Biden that he turned his report into a series of personal smears.
There is no comparison when it comes to how Trump and Biden handle classified documents.
Joe Biden followed the law.
Donald Trump broke the law.
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Jason is the editor-in-chief. He is also a member of the White House Correspondent and Congressional Correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason holds a Bachelor's degree in Political Science. His graduate studies focused on public policy, specializing in social reform movements.
Awards and Professional Memberships
Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and the American Political Science Association.