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WASHINGTON (AP) — Senior Democrats discouraged by a constant stream of startling disclosures Sunday voiced criticism of how President Joe Biden handled classified material after he stepped down as vice president, prompting the White House to I was disappointed that he wasn’t more frank with the public than he had been before.
When they were scheduled to appear on Sunday’s news show last week, lawmakers who might have expected questions focused on the debt ceiling and Ukraine’s aid have turned to the documentary drama that put Biden’s presidency on the defensive. I noticed you were asking about the latest developments over the weekend. During a search of Biden’s home in Wilmington, Delaware, on Friday, the FBI found additional documents with classified markings and obtained some of Biden’s handwritten notes, the president’s attorney said. said on Saturday.
Illinois Sen. Dick Durbin said Biden should be “embarrassed by the situation,” and said Biden had given up the moral edge on an issue already plaguing former President Donald Trump. added. A special counsel appointed by Attorney General Merrick Garland is investigating both cases.
“Well, of course. Durbin said.
Virginia Democratic Senator Joe Manchin said Biden “should have a lot of regrets… he might just say, ‘Listen, that’s irresponsible.'”
Despite their criticisms, Biden’s fellow Democrats defended what they said was his cooperation with the Justice Department as the search for additional classified material unfolded. to Trump’s resistance to efforts to recover hundreds of documents after he left office.
“It’s outrageous that either happened,” Durbin said. “But the reactions of the former president and the current president have never been so starkly contrasting.”
Biden voluntarily allowed the FBI to enter his home on Friday, but the lack of a warrant did not diminish the extraordinary nature of the investigation. It began in early January when it emerged that the president’s attorneys had found a “small number” of classified records in the former offices of the Penn-Biden Center in Washington just before the Nov. 8 election. The embarrassment of Biden just got worse.
The White House has revealed that Biden’s team has found classified documents and official records four times in recent months. at his Wilmington home, and at his home library on January 11 and 12.
As Biden gears up for re-election in 2024, such discoveries will bear political responsibility, and after his predecessor Trump’s tumultuous inauguration, the US public’s image of the country will be tarnished. Mr. Biden’s efforts to present the
Manchin accused both men of handling classified security documents. “It’s hard to believe that there are former and current presidents in the United States who are basically in the same situation,” he said. “How is this happening?”
At the same time, Democrats were concerned that Biden’s woes would pave the way for newly empowered House Republicans.
“This new group that has taken control of the House of Commons promises endless investigations, confrontations, impeachments and chaos,” Durbin said.
Rep. James Comer (R-Ky.), the new chairman of the House Oversight Committee, said he believed Biden at his word when the first set of documents was found. …but now this has gone from being simply irresponsible to downright frightening. ”
Trump took hundreds of classified records with him when he left the White House in early 2021, resisting months of demands to return them to the government, according to the Justice Department. , willingly submitted the documents found. But the issue plagues Biden and his aides, who said they were working to act quickly and appropriately when the documents were discovered and to be as transparent as possible.
Durbin appeared on CNN’s “State of the Union,” Manchin appeared on CNN and NBC’s “Meet the Press,” and Comer was interviewed on Fox News Channel’s “Sunday Morning Futures.”
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Seung Min Kim reported from Rehoboth, Delaware.
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