WASHINGTON (AP) 鈥� Joe Biden offered himself to Americans as a president they wouldn鈥檛 have to think about after the tumult of his predecessor. But an of and the to investigate classified records found at his Delaware home and a former office dating to his time as vice president is beginning to strain his claim to competence.
The surprise revelations that on at least four different occasions Biden鈥檚 lawyers found improperly stored classified documents and official records evoked the turmoil surrounding Donald Trump鈥檚 presidency, a four-year ruckus from which Biden has tried to move the country past. , the White House acknowledged on Saturday that Biden's lawyers had turned up even more such documents at the home than previously known.
It鈥檚 an embarrassment to Biden, and the to investigate potential criminal wrongdoing in the matter exposes the president to a new, self-inflicted risk.
Further, it complicates the about whether to bring charges against Trump over his handling of classified material, hands fresh ammunition to newly empowered House Republicans eager to launch investigations and undercuts a central plank of Biden鈥檚 pitch to voters just as he looks to launch a reelection bid in the coming months.
鈥淚t just won鈥檛 be so exhausting,鈥� former President Barack Obama had promised about a Biden presidency in the closing days of the 2020 campaign, adding that voters are 鈥渘ot going to have to think about the crazy things 鈥� and that is worth a lot.鈥�
The Biden case is of classified documents and official records 鈥� not least because Biden's team voluntarily turned them over to federal officials when they were discovered. Still, it has caused private frustration among Biden allies and some advisers because the president and his team, as billed, were supposed to be better than this.
The current White House explanation, , is that the special counsel鈥檚 inquiry 鈥渨ill show that these documents were inadvertently misplaced鈥� 鈥� a 鈥渕istake鈥� with the nation鈥檚 secrets.
Biden seemingly ignored or forgot about a cardinal rule in politics: Check your closet for skeletons before you complain about someone else鈥檚. His public criticisms about Trump鈥檚 鈥� 鈥� handling of classified documents, however different the circumstances, are now coming back to haunt him.
Biden allies say the packing up of his vice presidential office happened swiftly. Biden aimed to run through the tape on his eight years alongside Obama even as aides worked to close down his office before Trump鈥檚 inauguration at noon on Jan. 20, 2017.
But that explanation, said Richard Painter, the top ethics official in the George W. Bush administration, suggests behavior that was 鈥渋ncredibly careless and really quite shocking.鈥�
Painter said that while Biden probably would avoid the criminal issues looming over Trump because there is so far no sense that Biden intentionally mishandled classified records, it still merited investigation.
鈥淵ou never just pack stuff up and cart it out of there,鈥� Painter said. He said aides and lawyers are supposed to carefully sift through what are official records that are property of the National Archives and personal records that may be removed.
鈥淭o say nothing of classified documents which have these distinctive markings on them,鈥� Painter said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 still very worrisome. It鈥檚 a serious national security breach.鈥�
Beyond all that, the piecemeal way that word of the discoveries became public 鈥� more than two months after the first batch of classified documents had been found at the Penn Biden Center in Washington 鈥� has drawn bewilderment from crisis management experts.
鈥淭he White House can鈥檛 let itself be seen as hiding information or be bled to death by investigators鈥� or others鈥� leaks,鈥� said Adam Goldberg, who served as special associate counsel to President Bill Clinton from 1996-1999.
It wasn鈥檛 until Monday that the White House confirmed that classified documents had been found at Biden鈥檚 former office on Nov. 2, days before the midterm elections. Even then, that acknowledgement came only in response to news inquiries.
Not until Thursday did Biden lawyers acknowledge the Dec. 20 discovery of documents in the and inform the Justice Department that another classified record had been found the night before in Biden鈥檚 home library.
鈥淚f there鈥檚 any further bad news out there, they better be the ones to put it out and put it out all at once,鈥� Goldberg said.
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre had said Thursday that Americans can 鈥渁ssume鈥� there are no more classified documents or government records improperly stored after Biden鈥檚 personal lawyers conducted a final search that concluded on Wednesday evening.
She repeatedly deflected questions about the White House鈥檚 public disclosures, insisting the president's team was handling handling the matter the 鈥渞ight way鈥� by deferring to the Justice Department.
A statement from Sauber on Saturday about the latest discovery of classified documents in Delaware did not explain why the White House waited two days to provide an updated accounting.
If Biden鈥檚 White House needs to get its messaging back on track after a week of missteps and unforced errors, go well beyond mere competence.
鈥淥n the political front, assuming the White House gets its communications right, I鈥檓 not worried about any political fallout,鈥� said Goldberg. 鈥淲ith Trump, competency hasn鈥檛 been the issue, intentional misconduct has been. While Republicans will try to muddy this up, there鈥檚 just such a big difference between Biden discovering and disclosing these on his own and Trump鈥檚 obstruction and lying.鈥�
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EDITOR鈥橲 NOTE 鈥� White House Correspondent Zeke Miller has covered the presidency for The Associated Press since 2017.
Zeke Miller, The Associated Press
