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Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., recently issued a scathing post on Truth Social regarding the batch of documents found at the Penn Biden Center on Nov. 2, 2022.
According to Greene:
“Joe Biden took classified documents from the White House when he was Vice President.
The VP does NOT have the power to declassify, only POTUS.
Joe Biden stole classified documents.
This is a very serious crime.
DOJ & NARA can’t sweep this under the rug AND persecute Trump.”
President Trump, whose personal residence was raided by the FBI in search of “classified documents,” issued a series of posts on Truth where he blasted the recent news involving Biden. According to President Trump:
“Wow! The Biden Think Tank is funded by CHINA!!! Also, a V.P. cannot Declassify documents, which are covered by the Federal Records Act, which is Criminal and MUCH TOUGHER than the Presidential Records Act, which is NOT Criminal. A President, me, can Declassify. How much more information has China been given?”
In another post on Truth, President Trump noted that “Biden giving China Highly Classified Documents would be a bridge too far. I certainly wouldn’t do that. Not a good situation for our Country to be in!” Rep. Andy Biggs, R-Ariz., also expressed deep concerns about the recent findings involving Biden.
In November of last year, Attorney General Merrick Garland appointed Jack Smith, a former assistant U.S. attorney and chief to the DOJ’s public integrity section, to serve as special counsel and to “oversee the investigation into Trump’s retention of classified documents after leaving the White House and whether the former president obstructed the federal government’s investigation into the matter.”
Ironically, Biden previously chastised President Trump after the FBI raided and seized allegedly classified documents from Mar-a-Lago last year. As reported by Fox News, Biden specifically stated, “How that could possibly happen? How anyone could be that irresponsible? And I thought what data was in there that would maybe compromise sources and methods? And it just – totally irresponsible.”
Notwithstanding the recent bombshell, special counsel to the White House, Richard Sauber, tried to diffuse the recent findings. As reported by Fox News, Sauber stated:
“The documents were not the subject of any previous request or inquiry by the Archives. Since that discovery, the President’s personal attorneys have cooperated with the Archives and the Department of Justice in process to ensure that any Obama-Biden Administration records are appropriately in the possession of the Archives.”
Whether or not the documents were previously requested might be of questionable significance if Biden, who was vice president at the time, did not have the power or authority to declassify the documents in the first place (assuming they were classified).
Attorney General Merrick Garland has appointed John Lausch, U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, to review the matter.
Mr. Hakim is an attorney and columnist. His articles have been published in The Washington Examiner, The Daily Caller, The Federalist, American Thinker, and other online publications. He is also a regular guest on OANN’s Tipping Point, and has appeared on Newsmax, The Jenna Ellis Show, Steadfast and Loyal Podcast with Allen West, The Dave Weinbaum Show, and Real America’s Voice. The views expressed herein are the author’s own and do not constitute legal advice.