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Obama’s ethics chief weeps over Biden’s ‘appalling neglect’ of classified documents and breaking public trust by keeping him silent for two months.
- Biden’s withholding of classified records reflects an inexcusable disregard for the most basic security protocols,” Shaub said.
- He added that “there is nothing like Trump’s willful refusal to return classified records” that led to the Mar-a-Lago raid.
- Classified files found in Biden think tank office and Wilmington garage
Obama-era ethics chief Walter Shaub criticized President Biden’s “negligence” in bringing home classified files and storing them in his garage at his Wilmington residence and in his expert office.
Shaub said the difference between the classified files found at Biden’s residence and the Mar-a-Lago raid is “night and day,” though he called the current president’s behavior “appalling.”
“Trump knowingly resisted demands by the National Archives for classified records that he appears to have intentionally withheld, and obstructed the government’s efforts to recover them, while Biden immediately self-informed and immediately turned the records over to the government,” Shaub said. who served as the White House chief of ethics from 2013 to 2017, told DailyMail.com.
“That is not to say that Biden’s withholding of classified records was acceptable. The negligence exhibited in the mishandling of records, especially those stored in his garage, is egregious,’ he added.
Shaub also criticized the Biden team for not disclosing that documents had been found at Biden’s home at the same time they confirmed that documents were found at the Penn Biden Center office.
“The White House was not entirely forthcoming with the public about its discovery in more than one place,” he said.
Obama-era ethics chief Walter Shaub criticized President Biden’s “unpardonable negligence” in bringing home classified files and storing them in his garage at his Wilmington residence and in his expert office.
Shaub also criticized the Biden team for not disclosing that documents had been found at Biden’s home at the same time they confirmed that documents were found at the Penn Biden Center office.
“But, when comparing the two cases, the intentionality of Trump’s conduct cannot be avoided. So far, there is no evidence that Biden intentionally withheld records or otherwise resisted turning them over to the government.”
Biden’s lawyers originally discovered ten documents in the think tank’s office on November 2 and turned them over to the National Archives.
On December 20, the president’s personal lawyer informed the Justice Department that additional documents had been found in the president’s garage next to his Corvette. On January 11, an additional document was found in a room next to the garage.
On January 9, the White House confirmed media reports about the documents from the think tank’s office, and on January 12 admitted the documents found in the garage, again only after new media reports.
Also on January 12, Attorney General Merrick Garland announced that Trump-appointed prosecutor Robert Hur would serve as special counsel to oversee the investigation of the documents.
Garland had appointed special counsel to oversee Trump investigations, including handling of classified files, in November.
Over the weekend, Republicans on Capitol Hill demanded to see visitor logs at Biden’s home to learn who had gotten too close to the documents. On Monday, the White House counsel’s office said there were no such records to make public.
Classified documents were found in Biden’s garage next to his Corvette
“Like every president in decades of modern history, his personal residence is personal,” the White House Attorney’s Office said.
“But upon taking office, President Biden restored the norm and tradition of keeping White House visitor logs, including periodicals, after they were terminated by the previous administration.”
Republicans also questioned whether anyone with “foreign connections” had access to the documents, likely in reference to the president’s son, Hunter Biden. Hunter’s foreign business dealings in China and Ukraine have been under scrutiny for years, and he, too, is under investigation by the US attorney in Delaware for possible financial fraud.