Biden’s private office released secret government documents, everyone remembers Trump… What will happen next?
The US has been reeling since the beginning of the week over classified documents found in President Joe Biden’s office at the Penn Biden Center for Diplomacy and Global Affairs. This development brought to mind the Justice Department investigation into the discovery of hundreds of classified documents from Donald Trump’s home in Florida. So what are the similarities and differences between the two cases? Here are the answers to these questions…
Attorney General Merrick Garland has appointed Trump-nominated Chicago prosecutor John Lausch to review the Biden documents. The White House said in a statement that the documents were found in November, just before Garland appointed a special investigator to probe Trump’s actions.
So what does it mean that these documents were found in Biden’s office? What are the contents of the documents? Will Biden be investigated like Trump? Here are the answers…
1) WHAT WAS FOUND?
In the first statement from the White House, it was reported that the President’s personal lawyers found about 10 “secret stamped” documents on November 2, 2022, while clearing out the office Biden used from mid-2017 to early 2020. It was also emphasized in the statement that the documents came out of a locked cabinet, the White House Legal Office informed the National Archives on the same day, and officials from the institution came the next morning and received the documents.
There was another development this morning. A source, whose name was withheld for the sake of the integrity of the investigation, announced that several more documents had been discovered at a second, as yet undisclosed, location. However, it is not clear when these documents were found. The Justice Department, the FBI and the White House have not yet commented on this hot development.
2) WHAT DOES A DOCUMENT STAMPED CONFIDENTIAL MEAN?
Documents with a clear confidentiality mark on the cover or on the cover of the file contain sensitive information. Confidential information must be stored in sensitive classified information facilities, known as SCIFs. Special security measures are applied in these facilities. A locked cabinet in Penn Biden’s office is not considered a SCIF.
Hillary Clinton’s use of a personal e-mail account connected to a private server when she was secretary of state also caused a scandal. Emails can also be considered classified documents. However, as a result of the controversy, it was understood that there was no classified content in the correspondence in question.
3) ARE ALL CLASSIFIED DOCUMENTS OF THE SAME IMPORTANCE?
No, they are not. According to a decree signed by Barack Obama in 2009, these documents are divided into several classes.
The lowest class is documents stamped “CONFIDENTIAL”. These contain information that, if disclosed, could “harm national security”.
In second place are documents in the “SECRET” category. These contain information that could “seriously damage national security”. This includes information that could disrupt international relations affecting national security, interfere with a program or policy related to national security, disclose military plans or intelligence operations, or hinder scientific or technological developments related to national security.
Documents in the “TOP SECRET” category include information that could “cause exceptionally grave damage to national security”. Examples of this category include information that could disrupt international relations affecting national security, damage vital national security plans or complex communication and intelligence systems, or disclose sensitive intelligence operations.
Then there are Special Access Program (SAP) documents. Only those who need to know can see them. In order to access these documents, one needs to be in the highest level positions of the state.
4) WHAT CLASS ARE THE DOCUMENTS FROM BIDEN’S OFFICE?
We don’t know yet. CNN announced that the documents date from 2013-2016 and consist of intelligence correspondence and briefings on topics such as Ukraine, Iran and the UK. The boxes containing the documents also contained unclassified papers, which should have been delivered to the National Archives years ago.
CNN reported that the office where the documents were found contained mainly Biden family documents, but it is not yet clear whether classified documents and personal documents are together in the boxes.
5) IS IT COMMON FOR CONFIDENTIAL DOCUMENTS TO LEAVE PERSONAL SPACES LIKE THIS?
Mark Zaid, a lawyer who defends security breach victims, says it happens a lot. When someone retires or leaves their job, they pack up and leave. Years later, classified documents come out of storage. What happens next depends on how the person handles the documents.
In most cases, Zaid said, the matter is resolved through administrative means, such as revoking security clearances. This is especially true in cases where the situation is immediately reported to the authorities, investigators determine that no one has seen the documents, and the amount of documents is small.
Zaid said that the situation is different for those who take away too many documents.
Doing so deliberately rather than absentmindedly or accidentally, destroying classified documents and lying about it are punished much more severely.
6) HOW DID BIDEN ACT REGARDING THE DOCUMENTS?
It is not clear for what reason Biden’s lawyers gathered the office where the documents were found. However, according to the White House, after the documents were found, Archive officials were informed and the documents were immediately delivered to the institution.
Biden, who was in Mexico when the incident came to light, said he was “surprised that there were government records taken to that office.” Biden also stated that his lawyers did not tell him the content of the documents.
7) IS THIS SITUATION DIFFERENT FROM THE DISCOVERY OF DOCUMENTS IN TRUMP’S HOUSE?
In the case of Trump, the National Archives contacted the former president in May 2021 about the missing documents. Trump refused to return the documents. When some of the boxes were sent to the Archives about a year ago, it was discovered that some of the documents were stamped classified, some at the SAP level. Newspaper clippings, memorabilia and other items were found among the documents. An investigation was then launched into irregularities in the handling of classified information.
The FBI obtained a search warrant for Mar-a-Lago and announced that 184 documents were recovered from the boxes, 67 of which were CONFIDENTIAL, 92 SECRET and 25 TOP SECRET.
The raid in August yielded more than 100 more documents. These were also stamped with various levels of secrecy. Most of the documents were found in a warehouse, but some were found in drawers in Trump’s office among recent correspondence.
“If Trump had handed over the documents to the Archives at the first request, the matter would have been closed,” Zaid said. But because Trump and his lawyers stalled and then obstructed the authorities, it turned into a crime,” Zaid said.
The New York Times reported that prosecutors asked the judge to punish Trump’s lawyers for failing to comply with the subpoena.
8) WHY WASN’T A SPECIAL PROSECUTOR APPOINTED IN THE BIDEN CASE?
This question lies at the center of the debate in the US. Republicans argue that Biden was treated differently from Trump. However, this argument is based on the assumption that both politicians acted in the same way.
However, as we said above, Trump’s process is quite different from Biden’s. Especially in terms of cooperation with the relevant institutions… But the investigation is still in its early stages. Biden may also be investigated by a special prosecutor in the coming period.
9) WHY DID THE WHITE HOUSE RELEASE THE DOCUMENTS FOUND IN NOVEMBER 2 MONTHS LATER?
This is another detail that Republicans question. Party members argue that the delay was deliberate and that the midterm elections were expected to be over, but no evidence has yet emerged to that effect.
The initial stages of such investigations by the Justice Department are usually kept secret from the public. In Trump’s case, the Archives’ request date was May 2021. However, the public only learned about the investigation 9 months later when the Archives announced that it had received 15 boxes from Trump.
White House spokesperson Ian Sams responded to a question about the timing as follows:
“The Justice Department’s investigation is ongoing, so we’re limited in what we can say at this time. But we are committed to doing this the right way. We will continue to share details as and when appropriate.”
10) WILL BIDEN’S PRIVATE PROPERTIES ALSO BE SEARCHED?
If the prosecution sees a possibility that there may be documents hidden in Biden’s home and other properties, a search warrant could be issued. In the case of Trump, prosecutors have shown that the former president failed to comply with a grand jury subpoena and turn over documents.
“How did these documents get from the vice president’s office to the Penn Biden Center?” is at the top of the list of questions Lausch must answer.
How the documents were packaged, who transported them, and who had access to them after they arrived at Penn Biden are also critical questions. Many people who served on Biden’s team during his vice presidency later worked at Penn Biden. These people will be questioned.
11) WHEN BIDEN WAS VICE PRESIDENT, DID HE HAVE THE AUTHORITY TO CLASSIFY DOCUMENTS?
Yes, he did. President Obama’s decree gave this authority to his deputy. Trump said he lifted the declassification order on the documents he had. Biden also had the authority to declassify documents that he classified as classified when he was vice president. But when this is done in the right way, there should be clear statements on the documents.
In the Trump investigation, it doesn’t matter whether the documents are classified or not. Because documents do not have to be classified for the Justice Department to prosecute Trump for all three crimes.
The Washington Post’s “Biden, Trump and classified documents: An explainer” from The Washington Post.
