Joe Biden speaks on the phone from his private residence in Wilmington, Del., Dec. 30, 2021.
Photo:
Adam Schultz/Associated Press
The White House can’t be happy that its document scandal has landed President Biden a special-counsel investigation. At the same time, the Justice Department has handled the affair in a way that’s proved convenient for the president.
It’s convenient that the White House was able to keep quiet for nearly 70 days the revelation that Mr. Biden inappropriately retained classified information. The media reported almost immediately in 2022 that the National Archives had asked the Justice Department to examine
handling of documents and later that the Federal Bureau of Investigation had opened a probe. These unsourced stories contained details only department personnel would know—despite a strict prohibition on discussing or disclosing investigations. In the Biden case, officials managed to keep their mouths shut for months.
It’s convenient that the Biden news didn’t break prior to the midterm elections. In the Trump case, a torrent of leaks and the FBI raid on Mar-a-Lago inspired Attorney General Merrick Garland to break the policy of confidentiality. He publicly confirmed the investigation. The first Biden document was found Nov. 2 and the Justice Department knew about it by Nov. 4—four days before voters went to the polls. This time, Mr. Garland scrupulously followed policy and kept silent, allowing Team Biden more than two months to perfect the tidy story of “inadvertent” handling and “full cooperation” it later rolled out.
It’s convenient that the FBI immediately declined to engage in the Biden probe. The Journal reported Tuesday that, soon after the discovery, the Biden team “discussed with the Justice Department the prospect of having FBI agents present while Mr. Biden’s lawyers conducted the additional searches. Instead, the two sides agreed that Mr. Biden’s personal attorneys would…
Click Here to Read the Full Original Article at RSSOpinion…