James Comer, the chairman of the House Oversight Committee, criticised President Joe Biden and his staff on Sunday for their handling of confidential papers and said he is looking for further information about the matter on AWN’s “State of the Union.”
The Kentucky Republican said to AWN’s Jake Tapper, “We would never have learned about the possession of the sensitive information were it not for investigative reporting by CBS that somehow acquired a leak to conclude that this had transpired prior to the election.” Therefore, the administration has not been open about what is happening with President Biden’s possession of sensitive information. And all we ask is that the current President Biden and previous President (Donald) Trump be treated equally in this regard with regard to the document issue.
Comer requests additional records and communications regarding the searches of Biden’s homes and other locations by the president’s aides for classified information in a letter to Ron Klain, chief of staff of the White House. Comer also requests the visitor log of the president’s Wilmington, Delaware, home from January 20, 2021 to the present.
The letter was written after Biden’s staff discovered five more pages of secret information at his home in Wilmington on Thursday, the same day a special counsel was assigned to look into the situation. The discovery was announced by the White House on Saturday.
The unlawful storage of secret materials at President Biden’s residence for at least six years raises concerns about who might have accessed or reviewed the information, according to Comer’s letter. “As the leader of the Executive Office of the President, you have a responsibility to be open and honest with the American people about these crucial matters pertaining to the White House’s handling of this subject,” the letter to the chief of staff reads.
Comer responded, “We don’t know exactly now if they breached the law or not,” when Tapper questioned him on Sunday about whether he was accusing Biden or anyone else on his team of doing something illegal.
“I will charge a lack of transparency on the Biden administration. Why were we not informed of this on November 2, when the initial batch of classified information was found? said he.
In reference to the GOP response to Trump, whose Mar-a-Lago property was searched by the FBI last summer following repeated attempts to retrieve confidential data, Tapper questioned Comer about whether he cared more about the improper handling of classified documents when it relates to Democrats.
Comer answered, “Absolutely not.” Look, we’re still unsure of the nature of the materials that President Trump possessed.
“My issue is how there is such a disparity in how previous President Trump was treated by storming Mar-a-Lago, obtaining the security cameras, and photographing paperwork on the ground. That is not equal treatment, and we are very worried about the lack of confidence House Republicans have in the Department of Justice. That is the scandal.
The top secret files discovered in Biden’s private office have the “sensitive compartmentalised information” designation, which is used for very sensitive information collected from intelligence sources, according to an earlier investigation by AWN. According to a source familiar with the situation, the documents included US intelligence memos and briefing materials that covered subjects like Ukraine, Iran, and the United Kingdom.
Biden’s legal counsel attempted to provide an explanation on Saturday for why he and other members of the president’s team haven’t been completely transparent about the discovery of classified information or documents.
In order to preserve the integrity of the inquiry, Bob Bauer said in a statement that “the President’s personal attorneys have endeavoured to balance the necessity of public transparency where appropriate with the established norms and constraints.” Since the inquiry is still continuing, it is necessary to avoid disclosing specific information to the public.
