Why Joe Biden Might Have Saved Donald Trump’s Head Joe Biden: A Gift to the Republican Political Circus

After his announcement of the presidential candidacy, Donald Trump was initially strangely quiet. Just like in May, the ex-president has been active on social platforms for a few days. The reason for this is the fact that documents about Joe Biden that actually belong in the national archives have also been found and that Attorney General Merrick Garland has also appointed a special investigator to investigate this matter.

“Are they (meaning the FBI) ​​also going to search the White House?” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform. “Will they pursue Biden with the same zeal as I did?”

At the same time, Trump took the opportunity to settle accounts with Jack Smith, the special counsel assigned to him. He did so in his usual charming way:

All this could be dismissed as the idiotic whining of an elderly gentleman who has finally lost touch with reality in his fortress of Mar-a-Lago. Unfortunately, however, President Biden’s sloppiness has added weight to Trump’s diatribes. Since it was revealed that classified documents had been found on him that he was not supposed to have, the ex-president, his Republican henchmen and Fox New have been in a collective revenge orgasm.

New House Intelligence Committee chairman Michael Turner has given Attorney General Garland an ultimatum to investigate the incidents. James Comer, chairman of the House Committee on Oversight and Accountability, announces an investigation. And Jim Jordan, chairman of the newly created committee to investigate the conduct of the Biden administration, wants to give the matter top priority.

Legally, there should be little meat on the bone. This can be explained with the following equation: Two men steal something from the supermarket. One does this unintentionally and immediately returns the item as soon as he discovers the mishap. The other covers up the whole thing, illegitimately claiming that the stolen item is his after all.

That’s how it should be in both cases. Biden credibly explains that he was unaware that the documents were in one of his offices or garage at his home in Delaware. Trump, on the other hand, has long refused to release the documents, had his lawyers sign false statements, claimed he released the documents in his capacity as president, and falsely stated that the documents were his property.

From a legal point of view, the damage to Biden should therefore be limited, especially since few documents classified as secret were found with him. Trump had over a hundred. “I don’t think Biden has any legal concerns,” Brian Fallon, a former Justice Department official, told the Washington Post.

Politically, Biden is on the wrong foot

Politically, on the other hand, the case comes at the worst possible time for Biden. It was widely expected that the president would seize the moment and announce his candidacy for a second term. The Democrats are currently on edge, while the Republicans in the House have put on an embarrassing spectacle over the choice of speaker. In addition, persistent inflation finally seems to have peaked and the approval of Biden’s policy has risen above 50 percent for the first time.

But now Biden will have to wait for the result of the special investigator’s investigation before he can run for office. Until then, his political opponents are happy to throw at him his statements from an interview with the TV program ’60 Minutes’. There he denounced Trump’s handling of classified documents as “irresponsible”.

Biden hasn’t exactly made life easier for his attorney general either. So far, charges against Trump for his handling of classified documents seemed almost like a surefire bet. The case seems crystal clear: the documents were stolen unlawfully, Trump knew that and had admitted this publicly on several occasions. This also proves the fact of conscious intention “beyond all doubt” and with that the highest hurdle has been cleared.

Although this is still legally possible, given the new situation it may be questionable whether Trump will be held accountable for this. An acquittal of Biden with a simultaneous indictment of Trump would be politically more than delicate. Conservative howl over a bipartisan justice system would take on hurricane proportions.

Does this mean Biden involuntarily saved Trump’s head with his clumsiness? No, for reasons. First, Special Counsel Smith is not only investigating the ex-president’s handling of classified documents, he is also investigating his role in the storming of the Capitol. The committee responsible for investigating the events of January 6, 2021 has done important preparatory work. If special counsel and the attorney general come to the conclusion that Trump has committed criminal acts, it is much more serious than his handling of classified documents.

In addition, the investigation into Trump’s attempted interference in the Georgia state election is nearing completion and he is also facing charges in that case.

The fuss surrounding the secret documents of the incumbent and former president can therefore be interpreted in two ways: On the one hand, it shows once again how polarized American politics has become and how the political disputes have moved further and further away from the concerns of the population. On the other hand, the result could also be to spare Americans and the world what no one wants: a repeat of the duel between Trump and Biden.