Joe Biden: a gift for the Republican political circus Fear of attacks: security in Brazil’s capital strengthened

The new year isn’t even two weeks old, but Joe Biden probably wishes it was over. A special representative of the Justice Department is investigating not only his predecessor Donald Trump – but now Biden himself. home, even though they are classified and belong in the National Archives.

At second glance, the two cases differ considerably, not only in the number of documents found and the way they were stored, but presumably also in their explosive nature. The main difference, however, is that Biden’s lawyers behaved correctly in reporting the documents from his time as vice president — which the White House says they accidentally found — to authorities and seeking more. They cooperated, unlike Trump, who often had to be asked to return the documents and apparently misled the judiciary about what was left in his possession.

Biden may also have committed a criminal offense, albeit to a lesser extent than Trump. The special detective is now investigating. And yet: the obvious criminal energy – and conversely the absence of it – distinguishes the two incidents.

Gradually things come to light

The find at Biden confirms those who don’t care about such fine but relevant details. Her single but powerful argument: But the others do too. And he feeds conspiracy theories. Surely there must be much more now that things are only going public: people who have been made vulnerable to these kinds of whispers by the Trumpists’ strategic manipulation will now feel vindicated.

This is partly due to the unfortunate handling of this case by the government. There are too many unanswered questions that could have been better answered at this point. Why, for example, the documents in the garage are only now known, although most of them were discovered on December 20, according to Attorney General Merrick Garland. And even more so why the public learned about the first batch of documents only a few days ago, which appeared in the foundation office in early November. In the middle of the midterm election campaign, in which Democrats tirelessly pointed to the Trump investigation.

This also means that Garland was already aware of the documents in the office previously used by Biden when he used special counsel against Trump. A decision that, despite all efforts to maintain neutrality, could never be completely rid of the accusation that the rule of law serves party political interests here too.

With the swift decision for a special counsel – and a prosecutor once appointed by Trump – in the Biden case, an attempt is now being made to counter this. And yet: The fact that this only happened after a first report about the found documents had reached the media does not make a good impression.

All of this is a welcome opportunity for Kevin McCarthy, under whose leadership Republicans are currently turning the U.S. House of Representatives into an inquisitorial political circus — and they’re all the more right now: the administration knew about the Biden documents before the election, McCarthy said Thursday, “and they kept it a secret from the American public.” A congressional inquiry is needed.

Now it really wasn’t necessary. Biden’s appearance of ignorance does not help, on the contrary: the repeated statement made by him and his spokeswoman that the discovery of the documents “surprises” him raises more questions than it answers.

It seems understandable that the documents in the foundation’s office, which Biden would not have been in for years, have been forgotten, especially since they would have been carefully stored in a closet. But the ones in Biden’s private rooms, in the garage of his house, where someone was sure to pass, himself included? That shows astonishing carelessness. So how can one believe the repeated claim that he takes handling classified documents seriously, especially since, according to his spokeswoman, he doesn’t even know what kind of documents they are?

That, too, is a question that is now becoming increasingly urgent: what was really in these documents and whether leaving them lying around is akin to “irresponsible,” as Biden has declared to his predecessor.

He shouldn’t make it so easy for himself

The fact that he did not deliberately hoard the documents may help Biden legally. But politically, this episode disrupts Republican polemics that Biden is restless, forgetful, and out of office (anymore).

Biden’s slap on the question of how he came to keep such sensitive material in the same place as his classic car seems precarious: “My Corvette is in a locked garage. It’s not like it’s on the street.” A garage door should be the deciding factor in determining whether it is due to a sense of responsibility or negligence. A president shouldn’t make it so easy for himself. Especially one who claims to restore the dignity of this office.

The whole thing is all the more likely to prove a mortgage for a potential presidential candidacy in 2024. And right now, Biden has stellar poll numbers by his standards. He couldn’t give a greater gift to Republicans – and certainly not Donald Trump.

This article was first published on Zeit Online. Watson may have changed the headings and subheadings. Here’s the original.