Former President Donald Trump is again making false claims about President Joe Biden’s handling of classified documents while defending his own handling of classified materials. On his social media platform Tuesday, Trump claimed Biden had “more documents, including classified documents” that were left unsupervised, again saying Biden wasn’t covered under the Presidential Records Act.
Trump, however, was found to have roughly 340 documents with classification markings at his Mar-a-Lago estate, while Biden had 88 documents with classification markings in his home, according to the respective special counsel investigations in both cases.
The former president also claimed that the documents he had were secure compared to the Biden documents that Trump said had “ZERO supervision or security.”
But Jack Smith, the special counsel overseeing the Trump classified documents probe, has noted in public court filings that “Whatever risks are posed by storing documents in a private garage … are dwarfed by the risks of storing documents at ‘an active social club’ with ‘hundreds of members” and ‘more than 150 full-time, part-time, and temporary employees,’ which, between January 2021 and August 2022, ‘hosted more than 150 social events … that together drew tens of thousands of guests.'”
This image, contained in the report from special counsel Robert Hur, shows a box of files, found in the garage of President Joe Biden and annotating the “Facts First folder” where classified documents relating to Afghanistan were found in Wilmington, Del., during a search by the FBI on Dec. 21, 2022.
Justice Department via AP
Robert Hur, the special counsel who oversaw the investigation into Biden’s handling of classified documents, drew “several material distinctions” between Biden’s conduct and the accusations against Trump.
Hur wrote in his 388-page report published last month, “Most notably, after being given multiple chances to return classified documents and avoid prosecution, Mr. Trump allegedly did the opposite. According to the indictment, he not only refused to return the documents for many months, but he also obstructed justice by enlisting others to destroy evidence and then to lie about it.”
His report added, “In contrast, Mr. Biden turned in classified documents to the National Archives and the Department of Justice, consented to the search of multiple locations including his homes, sat for a voluntary interview, and in other ways cooperated with the investigation.”
Hur, who was previously nominated by then-President Trump as U.S. attorney for the District of Maryland, wrote in his report that he would not recommend charges against Biden despite uncovering evidence that Biden “willfully retained” classified materials.
Several of those materials, however, bore no classification markings at all. Hur wrote that Biden “regularly created classified documents in the form of his own handwritten notes,” which Biden kept after his time as vice president and believed belonged to him.
Smith, meanwhile, charged Trump with 40 felony counts alleging that he unlawfully retained scores of classified documents after leaving the White House and obstructed the government’s efforts to retrieve them. Trump has pleaded not guilty and denied all wrongdoing.
In recent weeks, President Donald Trump has repeatedly claimed that his political rival, Joe Biden, has “more documents” that could potentially incriminate him. However, a detailed analysis of the numbers presented in the Special Counsel report reveals that this claim is unfounded and lacks any substantial evidence.
The Special Counsel report, which was released last month, contains a comprehensive breakdown of the number of documents and evidence collected during the investigation into possible collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia during the 2016 election. The report reveals that a total of 1.4 million documents were reviewed, including emails, memos, and other forms of communication.
In contrast, the report also states that only a fraction of that number of documents were collected in relation to Joe Biden and his son Hunter Biden. Specifically, the report indicates that only 10,000 documents were reviewed in connection to the Bidens, with no evidence of any wrongdoing found.
Furthermore, the report highlights that the majority of the documents related to the Bidens were routine correspondence and financial records, with no indication of any illegal activity or misconduct. This stark contrast between the number of documents reviewed in relation to Trump and Biden clearly disproves Trump’s claim that Biden has “more documents” that could potentially incriminate him.
Additionally, legal experts have pointed out that the mere quantity of documents does not necessarily equate to the strength of a case. It is the quality and relevance of the evidence that ultimately determines the outcome of an investigation. In this case, the lack of substantial evidence against the Bidens further undermines Trump’s claims and casts doubt on the validity of his accusations.
In conclusion, the analysis of numbers presented in the Special Counsel report clearly disproves Trump’s claim about Biden having “more documents” that could potentially incriminate him. The lack of substantial evidence against the Bidens, coupled with the overwhelming amount of evidence collected in relation to Trump, further undermines Trump’s accusations and raises questions about the credibility of his claims. It is essential to rely on facts and evidence when evaluating such claims, rather than baseless assertions and speculation.
