Special Counsel Interviewed Joe Biden For Handling of Classified Files
By: Sandya Azarine Winsafitri
Amid the dramatic events currently happening in the Middle East between Palestine and Israel, The President of the US is now preoccupied with matters concerning classified files that were found at his house and office. According to Matza (2023), the classified documents were first found by Biden’s lawyers at the office of Biden’s think-tank, Penn Biden Center for Diplomacy and Global Engagement, on 2 November 2021 – one week before the midterm elections. But then, the officials also found more classified documents in the garage and storage space of Biden’s house in Wilmington, North Carolina. This affair is then considered a problem since the classified documents are supposed to go to the National Archives once the Biden administration period as Vice President of the US ends in 2017.
Several sources said some of the documents were labeled as top secret in Obama – Biden Administration Records. Based on CNN and New York Times’ sources, the first 10 classified files found were briefing materials on foreign countries, such as Ukraine, Iran, and the United Kingdom, from Biden’s time as vice president. But the documents were also mixed with non-classified files, such as details of the Beau Biden – Joe Biden’s son – funeral in 2015 (Honderich, 2023).
Due to such matters, the US Department of Justice has appointed an independent lawyer to investigate whether those papers were mishandled, in this case, Special Counsel Robert K. Hur – a former US attorney for Maryland during the Trump presidency. The White House spokesman said that the interview between Biden and Hur was conducted on Sunday and Monday at the White House (Matza, 2023). The interviews were concluded on Monday, but Hur and his spokesman refused to give a statement about it.
It is not known yet what penalties Biden could face in the future because it is too early to judge it. According to Honderich (2023), there are few things make criminal charges unlikely to happen, such as the need to prove intent that the files were knowingly removed and held by Biden or his team. Besides that, the US Department of Justice also has a standing policy not to pursue charges against a sitting president. But, it doesn’t rule out the possibility of Biden being sentenced in the future, considering Trump – who allegedly retained highly sensitive government documents at his home in Florida after leaving the office – is now facing seven charges related to the documents (Feuer et al., 2023).
REFERENCES
Feuer, A., Haberman, M., Rashbaum, W. K., & Protess, B. (2023, June 8). Trump Indicted: Trump Is Charged in Classified Documents Inquiry. The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/live/2023/06/08/us/trump-indictment-documents
Honderich, H. (2023, January 13). Four unanswered questions about the Biden classified documents. BBC News. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-64267983
Matza, M. (2023, October 10). President Biden interviewed over handling of classified files. BBC News. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-67061075
Savage, C. (2023, October 9). Special Counsel Interviewed Biden About Classified Documents. The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2023/10/09/us/special-counsel-biden-interview.html
