>

Pretty much everybody is disappointed in Garland right now.
Do a complete investigation, gather the evidence, follow all procedures and the law, seek justice without fear or favor no matter who is involved.  Figure this mess out. >

Fully agree - and I'd actually like the investigation to be concluded swiftly since the ones being investigated will likely be 100% cooperative.  It's not like DoJ will have to be dealing with full on liars and criminals which takes forever to find the answers. >

I 100% agree that there ought to be a reasonable investigation into this but I do have to wonder if any of this matters at all given that Biden is currently the president and therefore has not only the right to have classified information but also the ability to declassify that information.
Not trying to make excuses for the oversight (or lack thereof) of classified documents, but it seems to me as though this requires an investigation into how classified documents are handled during and after individuals have been given such status and after said status has lapsed.
Let's be perfectly honest, if they had taken different actions on the first set of documents, we likely wouldn't even know about this because there was nobody searching for them.
Had Biden and his lawyers actually been seriously corrupt, they could easily have disposed of them in a fireplace or down a toilet and no one would know the better.
The fact that they brought this directly to the attention of the proper authorities is at least proof that they do have respect for the rule of law and are willing to except the consequences, even if it is going to be used to make political hay while the sun shines.
That said, this likely has huge implications for executive privilege, especially to the extent that the former president argued he had. I personally do not have a problem with the minister of th Office of the President being able to be held accountable for their actions but only if it is equally applied across the board and not just something that we will have to deal with when presidents from the Democratic party are being scrutinized. >


has not only the right to have classified information but also the ability to declassify that information.

He does.  But apparently these docs were from his Vice Presidency under Obama.  So, it's a bit uncertain.
And it really undermines at least one of the central charges you could have lodged against Trump, that everyone that is able to access classified documents has a substantive responsibility to make sure they are handled appropriately.  The "oh, well, we had to leave in a hurry and things just got mixed up" arguments Trump could have made before would have had little merit - especially when you consider previous historic cases where even a single doc mishandled ended up with someone in jail.
But now Trump will be able to dilute that charge completely.  He's still fucked on obstruction and everything else (hopefully). >

Classified != Compartmentalized, Top Secret, etc. >

I agree with you, but I was recently informed that sources say some of these classified documents were classified Top Secret.
It does appear as though ABC is confirming that sources are saying that some of these were top secret documents.

Sources also told ABC News that the original batch of about 10 documents found in November contains classified vice-presidential briefing papers about foreign countries, some of which were marked top secret.

And CNN is not even using the journalistic term source, going so far as to assert that some of these documents were top secret.

Some of the classified documents were “top secret,” the highest level. They were found in three or four boxes that also contained unclassified papers that fall under the Presidential Records Act, CNN has reported.

If we are going to maintain Integrity about the treatment of top secret classified documents, it is important to hold both sides accountable for their retention of documents.
Thank goodness that Biden's lawyers were up front with the FBI and NARA rather than lying about the retention of documents and obstructing an investigation.
I really hope that Biden doesn't try to use the executive privilege argument to keep himself from investigation, but this is likely going to be a permanent stain on his reputation and definitely opens up the presidential field in the Democratic Party for 2024. >

Why would this be a permanent stain on Biden’s reputation? >

Because it will 100% be used along with whataboutism to suggest that Biden was going after Trump for the same thing that he was caught doing, regardless of the fact that Biden was not responsible for the investigation into Trump's documents has not been outspoken about the retention of documents, subsequent Lies by his lawyers, and obstruction.
I'm not saying that it is going to be fair, or even rational but it is going to cause a stain and that will be used to pillory him. >

So in essence, this is only going to be a stain in the minds of people who are rather brainless to begin with….gotcha >

Also, completely casual people who don't follow politics at all and just read a headline or a blurb.  They will see trump and Biden having done the same thing and reach the conclusion that one is just as bad as the other.
Most people really don't follow politics to any degree.  The amount of people I know that I had to tell about Roe v Wade being overturned and what that even means is concerning. >

My favorite part of this:
No raging tweets from the president making up executive powers. Accusing people of planting evidence and arguing about a deep state conspiracy against him. >

I’d be hilarious if he copy pasted one of trumps tweets and ended it with JK I’m not a raving lunatic in a middle of a tantrum. >

That would be some great dark Brandon shit. >

I am all for a special counsel being appointed. But a Trump appointee feels like an attempt by Garland to bend over backwards to show just how apolitical he is. If he wanted to reach across the aisle, he couldn’t find a Bush appointee rather than someone appointed by a man who literally tried to upend the Republic and is known for appointing partisan hacks? >

This is how Garland has been acting since appointed. It’s like he’s so terrified of being perceived as biased against repubs that he instead acts biased against dems. He has truly been a failure at AG.. even more of a letdown than Mueller >

Well, Garland is a conservative…..  people think that he must be left wing because Obama nominated him for SCOTUS.  NOPE! - he’s right wing and Obama was throwing the GOP a bone.  The GOP just hated Obama so fucking much they slapped down a nominee that aligned with them. >

True, Biden should have appointed someone else >

When Garland was first announced, I figured it was just another corporate Democrat move. these days I’m not sure I was entirely wrong. >

Only took a year and a half to appoint one for Trump. Also what about that DOJ policy about not investigating and prosecuting a sitting president which protected the former guy for, what, six years now? >

Garland is not our friend. >

Garland is not a friend to justice.
Why has Trump not been indicted yet?  What's the confusion? >


Why has Trump not been indicted yet?

why would you expect him to have been? the investigation isn't over yet >

it explains why they weren't indicted in the article >

Some anonymous lawyer being quoted by CNN is not a definitive explanation at all.  It's hearsay and well-meaning bullshit.  But when the DOJ was asked?  "A spokesperson for the Department of Justice declined to comment."  But if you do believe that anonymous source, do you really think they have executive privilege, as your source says?  How TF do "advisors" get privilege? >

they worked in the White House >

Bad enough that everyone bought that crap, "The president is immune to criminal prosecution and subpoenas."  But now we're going to extend it to anyone who worked in the White House?!  Holy cow you can't possibly believe that's a good idea. >

As. We. Would. Expect. 🤷‍♂️ 
Can't wait until Biden whines, makes excuses, tries to get a special master, claims that they where declassifi...... Oh wait. Dems don't do any of that. >

It doesn’t even matter cause republicans don’t care about mishandling classified document- oh wait…now they do. >

Biden isn't asking for a special grand master or looking for a favorable court... weird. >

Love how it took 2 years to do this for trump, and he ain't even president, 2 days for Biden and he is president. 
To be clear, I'm not saying there shouldn't be an investigation, I'm saying Garland is showing his true colors pretty strongly with the disparity.
Edit: I'm muting this thread, not trying to get banned for cussing some fool out again.   Have a good night y'all. >

It's funny to read these articles. I read the Times article and they are going out of their way to only use Trump-appointed individuals. It's like you can't have any credibility unless Trump appointed you. Do they not see how this is completely legitimizing Trumpism? 
I get that it is an attempt to show impartiality. It's just kind of funny that being a Trump-appointed X automatically gives you an air of legitimacy in this country. >

This is definitely a flaw in the approach of rational actors. So many people who are trying to push back against pseudoscience/fake news/nonsense will go out of their way to avoid cries of bias. And the people who have the same mindset find it reassuring. But for people trying to break the system, you've just tied yourself in a knot to win a battle that they were never interested in. They love it when we take our time and cross our I's and dot our T's, because they can use that time to just come up with more BS that makes the effort seem pointless.
And in this case, I think you are absolutely right. We are so focused on how indicating it is that 45's own people rule against him that we lend them credence for the rare cases that they agree with us. When in reality, we should be standing by the appointees who never dealt with the devil in the first place.
Fox News will use liberal appointee as a dirty word and then we play into that distrust. We won't promote faith in our system while we entertain baseless doubts. >

Weird how Garland can move with lightning speed when it’s a cover-your-ass political move. Lightning speed. >

Yep, so amazingly fast.  Hey Merrit, how are those other 4 year old cases coming along? >

They’ve been investigating trump for a while. They only moved the case to special counsel when he announced candidacy for president for ethics reasoning. Since Biden’s already president, ethically a special counsel is also the best way to investigate this >

Yes, for awhile.  Like long, long, long before he lost in 2020. Long, Long before the 2024 midterms.  Long before Monday when the first Biden doc leak happened.  I’d like to see Garland show up and put some facts out on how well those other cases are going. >

How's that Trump indictment coming? >

2020: almost. 
2080: almost there.
2300: finally reached a verdict. >

Woah there!!!!  Let's not rush this. >

As a Democrat I am pretty pissed off at Biden for this, but I would be willing to bet he didn't know the documents were there.  
That said, I am a strong believer in people being punished for breaking the law, even if they are on my "team."
If he broke the law, punish him.  
Just make sure that that miserable, racist orange thing that yells all the time gets his as well.
This is the only way to have nice things. >

I am more republican than democrat, but I agree with everything you said. 
Americans are sick and tired of people skating by unpunished. Its a clear divide between our overlords and the rest of the population. If you are an elite, you basically get a free pass on most things except heinous crimes.
And if it is heinous, they will cover that up too. Just like Epstein. >

Classic democrat dipshittery. Republicans are literally trying to rid the world of democracy and democrats not only have no message for that, they can’t take two steps without face planting. >

Weird. I thought the DOJ didn’t want to investigate presidents. >

Indict* but yes, this was rapid considering the other guy. >

I swear to God if they indict Biden before they indict Trump, I'm gonna... not be surprised at all. Totally on brand for this timeline. >

Currently, they have nothing to indict Biden on. >

This proves that Garland is exquisitely sensitive to (Republican) public opinion, which proves to me that he will never indict Trump. >

All it proves is that House Democrats are willing to investigate Biden along with republicans. Investigating Trump isnt bipartisan clearly like it should be. >

Yeah this is more "let's get done with this as quickly as possible because it's stupid and there's nothing to it" not "let's drag it out for years because the end result is awful for us" >

I don’t feel like repeating the same thing about how anyone with an ability to have a nuanced thought doesn’t understand what Trump and Biden didn’t weren’t one in the same, but I’m so fucking sick of Democrats bending over backwards to appear impartial. Announcing an investigation this quickly, a Trump appointed judge. Good job, Mer. I’m sure now the right will stop pretending your this evil communist. Oh, no they won’t. They’ll STILL pretend he is, and that the DOJ was out to get Trump and that there’s some awful double standard in favor of Biden. 
God. The same fucking shit. Just over and over letting the right dictate the pace and narrative. They’re NEVER, ever being won over. Ever. Ever. Ever. Ever. Ev-fucking-er. They’ll never return the favor. They’ll never be adults. They’ll never operate in good faith. They’ll never work with you. Stop falling over yourselves to please them. >

So... he can move fast?? >

this is a good move despite what wackos in this sub will say. the alternative would be jim jordan and the house intelligence committee running crazy conspiracy theories over this investigation. 
with this special counsel it will at least be an actual legitimate investigation that will in all likelihood tamper the political effects for biden, as well as create a more legitimate nonpartisan line between this and the trump situation. it won't matter for republicans anyway, but the appearance of impropriety is good!
obviously there's some hiccup in whatever processes for classified documents there are if they can be mixed in with other documents, put in places they aren't supposed to be, forgotten about, etc. and perhaps that can come to light as a result of both of these investigations and those processes can be revised to address these issues, whether intentionally mishandled or mishandled due to ignorance/an accident. >


the alternative would be jim jordan and the house intelligence committee running crazy conspiracy theories over this investigation.  

i don't think is an "either or" kind of situation. you'll still get jim's hot take of the day once they set up the committee. >

sure but as far as document requests and the like it could make it more complicated for the house to go as apeshit as they would otherwise >

No it won't. Because they are not grounded in reality. Just watch. >

I understand the frustration, however, what's the alternative choice? 
Democrats should let immoral and unethical actions of their members? 
Doesn't it sound ridiculous to suggest being lawful and ethical is losing?
What the democrats need to do is clean up their dependence on big donor moneys by making significant changes to the laws surrounding political campaigns. 
When Republican's don't vote for campaign reform, they should be examined carefully by journalists, then shamed for any corruption, and arrested for any crimes. >

I like this comment; there is a core of truth and clearheaded observation within that would likely solve most things political, if we can just convince the first national politician to unlatch from the corporate money tit. Someone has to be the wind-dummy, the maverick, and it would certainly be someone with enough independent wealth to tell the corporations and lobbyists to kick rocks. Hell, if even the congressional leadership adopted this tactic, media pressure would steer the others. 
Sounds very cool. Who’s first? >

God it’s only the second week of 2023 and I’m already burned out >

In my opinion, this pits Newsom against DeSantis, 2024. >

That's basically good news, Biden has produced excellent policies, but might not get many votes against a young candidate. >

That was quick given how long it took him to appoint a special counsel after months of obstruction by Trump. >

So the day after trump announced he was running he appointed a special counsel. The day after Biden (presumptive candidate) is being investigated, appoint a special counsel.... seems consistent. >

I don't know why everyone is making such a big deal about this. Obama declassified all of these documents on his last day in office. He didn't tell anyone, but since he thought it, they are declassified. You can't prove me wrong. >

The difference between Republicans and Dems is on display again. 
No cults, no obstructing. Let the legal system do its thing. >

A complete outrage. It took Garland nearly TWO YEARS of begging Trump pretty please for his documents back AND a warrant before a Special Prosecutor could be assigned on Trump, but within two months, he’s out front and center appointing one on Biden? Fuck all Garland apologists. >

Before Trump announced his candidacy for 2024, Garland didn't need a special counsel.  He could investigate him directly. >

“Could” >

why are you using quotes? he was and is currently being investigated lol >

Oh yeah two years and the Georgia election officials weren’t even subpoenaed until last north by Jack Smith. Tell me more of this mythical investigation you think Garland was doing. >

so you think there was no investigation? >

Sure, as slow walked and as toothless as it could be >

it's not finished lol >

GArlANd NEedS MoRE TiME tO bUiLd A cASE >

and what exactly are your qualifications for investigating and prosecuting someone in federal court for a potential violation of the espionage act/obstruction of justice? >

Sounds good. And if actual malicious intent is found, prosecute anybody involved.   
Y'know, malicious intent like refusing to return the documents, altering some by hand, letting some of them go missing, lying about how many they have, and not cooperating with the DOJ. >

Wonder if anyone will remember either of these cases in 2024 >

Democrats will, Republicans will get selective amnesia. >

Trump and Biden should both be investigated for illegally having classified documents, the more serious crimes are the lying and obstruction of justice.  If you steal a cookie from the cookie jar that’s a “crime” but if you confess to you parents it’s not as bad as if you’re parents catch you and confront you and you lie and try to blame someone else or say they have no authority over cookies and tell them to f-off. Your parents won’t be happy about either situation but one is clearly exponentially worse. >

I voted for Biden and I’m fine with this. >

Same. >

Wow. Took him less than a week. It took him two years to bother looking into Trump. >

Wait - just like that?  Isn't Biden supposed to haggle first? You can't just let them hire a special counsel without first haggling, can you? Making absurd public accusations and laughable self-victimizing? We've sure seen it working like that. Isn't that how it's supposed to work? >

I for one are very disappointed in President Biden for this! >

The GOP know that Biden is their only stopgap between the present and a future with Harris as president, right? >

Garland should appoint a special counsel to investigate. Does anyone really disagree with that? Let’s get to the bottom of this, lay out the facts, and determine how and why this happened. Biden is already fully cooperating. That’s what many Americans wanted to happen in the Trump case, but we have witnessed how hard he and his lawyers have been fighting and resisting and being uncooperative. >

I don't think this will sink him. He is being pretty cooperative it seems so it's not going to make great headlines against him. It's not like Trump where the FBI had to raid his building to get them all. >

It's almost disturbing how fast he's getting on this, yet trump breathes free air. >

Mere days after the first ever article on the entire subject a special counsel is appointed to investigate. 
Does everyone realize how long it takes to get to the point of appointing a special counsel to investigate trump, for anything, including this same crime only worse? 
this country is so fucked. >

Is it just me or does he seem a lot quicker to leap into action against Biden then he's been regarding Trump. >

The public has such a false and skewed notion of "fair and non partisan" that moves like this are largely pointless. If the evidence is convincing, it doesnt fucking matter how you launch a trial. >

This is a great opportunity to show what cooperating with an investigation looks like so we can make direct comparisons to the orange shitgibbon and his posse of clown lawyers. >

To what end? You can't squeeze juice out of a rock, not even with a most special counsel. The GOP is not a party of reason. Just like HRC going before their Benghazi committee for 6 hours...did that stop them? Heck no! >

So Trump took almost two years to investigate and Biden takes a couple days. Is Garland a Republican by any chance? >

JFC - I came here to say this. >

Well that was fast! >

Cool there should be. Wish someone from the cult would expect the same if their messiah. >

Cool, sounds reasonable. >

Seems normal. I imagine this will go significantly faster since Biden won’t block everything imaginable. >

doocy on fox news right now is the hardest he's been since Jen Psaki's last CBT session on national TV with him in the press core. >

r/conservative is showing once again how stupid they are, they actually think this is comparable or worse than trump. The lies they tell themselves to make their narrative believable to themselves is insane. >

I'm a Democrat,  voted for Biden. If he fucked up, he should face the consequences. >

It's amazing how quiet my feed is with this news. The very first time this popped up on Reddit, there were 500+ comments all saying this was fake news by a conservative (?) CNN or NBC News conglomerate. >

He's always been a republican. Coward refuses to prosecute Trump. >

Good. This is how it should be. >

Corrupt Garland took his ass time to investigate Trump, even go as far as shielding him against all investigations, but was quite quick to jump on the Biden files. Spineless corrupt Republicans. >

Giving Republicans such a gift is Democrats in a nutshell, sigh. >

I am into this and I voted for the guy. I wish people could be like that about the other guy. >

Same. >

this is good. >

One thing I’m sure of is that Biden will cooperate with the investigation >

Good. Better the Justice Department do it now than wait until the inevitable House Hang Biden Committee. >

Might be a way the White House can have a new candidate for 2024. Even though the handling of these documents is much less nefarious (aka not at al) than trump, it could be a way out to be like, “oh shoot, so having any classified documents is wrong, I guess I can’t run in 2024, and neither should trump. I guess we need to find a new Democrat to run.” >

How did he do this so quickly? Shouldn't this type of action take 2ish years? >

Trumps still going to fucking prison. Lol this shit isn’t gonna stop his investigation. Or make everyone forget. That compare to Biden. He’s a piece of fucking shit. The literal worse thing to come out of satans asshole. >

This seems like it should be a bigger story >

I got downvoted for even posting an article in the Guardian about the second lot of docs being found. People on hopium wanted to pretend it was trivial and not a nightmare for Biden. >

It's wild that Biden will definitely get punished for this before Trump does. Politically and legally, the double standard couldn't be clearer. >

Wait!  I've seen this one before, it's a rerun. >

Motherfucker needs to court martial Charles Flynn >

He's dotting his Ts and crossing Is. Merrick always gets his guy. >

🤣nicely done >

Why do I feel like the government is done working for the people and has just devolved into a reality television show? >

Everyone still thinks this guy is going after GOP thugs??? 🤡🤡🤡🤡🤡🤡🤡🤡🤡🤡 >

Personally this seems to be accidental and completely different than Trump (who was purposely hoarding), but please fully investigate to make sure.
My question is how common is this.  How often does the National Archive receive documents from past president that are found accidentally etc?? >

I imagine the investigation will be fast and swift. 
It's a very simple story. Biden fucked up and forgot about some documents. Cooperated fully when his team realised, returned them. If they want to do a search of his office/homes, fine, best to be sure there's no wrongdoing. It's right for there to be an investigation and it's right for there to be a SC. There's not much else to say. Can't see why this would take more than a few months - Biden and his team will cooperate fully and there's really not much there, unless there's much more going on under the surface. 
I don't think anyone on the left should be worried, and the betting markets don't really seem to give a shit from what I can tell. 
Only bad thing is it gives the MAGAs another shitty excuse for Trump. >

They can do this in ONE DAY but it takes fucking years to do anything about trump? And were still waiting for that? 🖕garland >

You realize the DOJ was investigating Trump since they were referred to by the National Archives back in 2021? It only took 1 day for the DOJ to appoint a special counsel to Trump after announced his campaign. It’s not that hard to understand >

Took him all of a handful of days while it took him literal years to do this with Trump.
Rules for Republicans are not the same as rules for Democrats. >

Lmao they are moving at warp speed on Biden. >

It's a lot easier when Biden is fully cooperating and giving them everything he has even before they ask for it. >

Oh I agree. He also isn’t ordering them not to investigate >

Anyone who's not concerned about Garland slowrolling the prosecution against Trump did not pay attention to the Mueller investigation. Back then everyone was saying "Just wait! He has to gather all the evidence first!" Then it turned out Mueller bungled it by making his investigation as narrow as possible, and Trump escaped justice.
The rules are simply different for Republicans, and the Democrats enable it. When Republicans investigate Democrats, they appoint hardliners and go all-out, grasping at every single straw. When Democrats investigate Republicans, they appoint conservatives, spend years on the investigation, and end up not doing anything. Republicans let other Republicans get away with murder, and Democrats throw the book at other Democrats to appear "nonpartisan". It's all a scam. >

Jesus christ man. Trumps right fucking there burning down everything but sure. Sure. >

Hey now don't be silly....meadows as the one burning stuff trump only tore them up, chewed them lightly and flushed them down the toilet. >

This guy and Robert Mueller - what disappointments they turned out to be. >

Republicans are going to be pissed when nothing happens because Biden properly worked with the DOJ. Donny could've avoided all of his trouble if he just cooperated like an adult, even after getting free pass after free pass. They tried to make it easy for him to make it a non-issue and he just refused to take the easy out. >

Got right on it when it involved a Dem president didn't they? Where was this sense or urgency and transparency with the Trump document debacle? 
Yep, still can't trust the DOJ >

Merrick Garland took two years to appoint a special counsel to Trump but he took 1 week to appoint a special counsel to Biden. Is he trying to please the Republican house or someone powerful is really trying hard that Biden don't run again. What an idiotic decision. He is giving fuel to republicans. Any normal person would understand that Biden administration is co-operating with the appropriate authority to resolve this matter. I am so disappointed at Merrick Garland. >

Pretty much everybody is disappointed in Garland right now. >

People complaining about his speed on this vs Trump are completely missing the point:
This move was made quickly entirely to remove the appearance of playing favorites. Now Fox can't cry about how Trump is being treated "unfairly" when Biden "did the same thing" (not). It also gets ahead of any GOP House investigations.
Controlling the narrative is part of politics. >

Oh they will cry anyways, but I agree. >


Oh they will cry anyways

Exactly! When the game is rigged, the only way to win is to NOT play. But whatever...Merrik Garland doesn't have the spine of an earthworm. >

God, the overwhelming stench of buttery mails is gagworthy already and it hasn't even really started yet. >

The dude that let Trump slide for 14 months before he took action when Trump did this goes for Biden in 4 days.
The DOJ should be disbanded and reformed with clowns, mimes and Vegas comedians.  Maybe I'd find their incompetence funnier. >

Good. This cuts both ways. We’re supposed to be the party where no one is above the law. We need to walk the talk. And we need serious and immediate conversations on if Biden should run again, not only about electability but also who would be the best leader. >

Good. Just because Trump got away with it doesn't mean that should be the new normal. >

Oh. For. Fuck's. Sake. This ball-less scrotum is about as effective as a wet noodle. >

Well that was fast wtf are they doing about Trump? >

Wild how quickly all this is happening compared to a similar situation (and by similar, I mean not even remotely similar) last year. >

Voted for Biden. GOOD! If he did something illegal he should be held accountable. >

I mean, if he did something wrong definitely have him face consequences for it. That being said there’s a clear difference between this scenario and Trump stealing and hiding documents from government officials, no matter how much the bad faith actors want to holler.
If Biden faces any kind of consequences, it’s great ammo for forcing their hand on Trump. I see no bad sides here. >

Garland had little choice. While I’m not concerned about the Biden documents, it likely allows trump to avoid any tough reprecussions from his document concerns. >

Wow, I think it's hypocritical how fast a special counsel was applied to Biden compared to how slow trump got one. Again, the standard is higher for Democrats. >

Merrick Garland moved 14 times faster against Biden than he ever did against Trump >

How? This happened 10 years ago >

They found classified documents and reported it 10 years ago??? >

Nope, they found classified documents from 10 years ago held by a VP that did not have the authority to declassify documents >

I'm guessing that's the end for Biden re-election dreams. Thank God. Hopefully dems find someone willing to run in 24 that isn't kamala Harris. >

when will he appoint an investigator to look into Kushners? >

I don’t have a problem with this. HOWEVER there is a MASSIVE difference between merely classified docs and top secret docs. Every email I send is “classified” but I can 100% guarantee absolutely nothing is secret. 
Trump isn’t in trouble for the 50 bankers boxes of classified materials. He’s in trouble for the top secret materials he stole. >

What a fucking joke of an AG. 
Should Biden be investigated? Absolutely. 
But this immediate bullshit when Trump is STILL walking around without charges is political ratfucking. Garland was the worst possible choice Biden could have gone with. What a fucking chode. >

if the DOJ is going to actually prosecute a former president they have to make sure it's perfect. it's never been done before. >

If YoU TaKe A sHoT aT tHe KiNg YoU bEtTeR nOt MisS
We've all heard this before. Constantly. Get real. >

what is your personal experience with investigating and prosecuting former high level government officials for potential violations of the espionage act and/or obstruction of justice? >

This is a bad faith question. Neither of us have experience with this. But we both saw an appointed prosecutor find evidence of wrongdoing and obstruction and ultimately shrug when it came to bringing the goods.
We both saw a New York AG decline to prosecute after a years long investigation. We've both seen a half dozen investigations into Trump go silent with no end in sight.
You'll have your reasons and justifications to dispute all of what I said but I will continue to feel how I feel. Thanks. >


But we both saw an appointed prosecutor find evidence of wrongdoing and obstruction and ultimately shrug when it came to bringing the goods.

that's not how i would interpret the results of the mueller investigation
aside from that, frankly i think anyone who thought trump would ever face serious repercussions in the first place was delusional >

What results were there other than a few fall guys doing light jail sentences and indictments on Russian nationals that will never see a US prison? >

i don't understand your question. i think it was unrealistic to expect there to have been an indictment from the mueller investigation in the first place. current OLC policy is that DOJ can't indict a sitting president, and even if mueller wanted to do that, he didn't have the authority, so it was moot. 
the report essentially laid the groundwork for an impeachment and conviction of the president through congress, which is what the constitution allows. >

Hindsight is 2020, but god it would have been a good idea to make sure Joe didn’t forget about some things before making the Trump documents a major talking point. This sub might not like it but independents and normies are going to view this as hypocrisy if not handled right. I personally do not think Joe Biden had the same intent Trump would have had but the fact is that this gives the GOP a much more potent talking point than Hunters Laptop. And in conjunction with the slow walk about the laptop being real when it was declared misinformation, I’m not sure an independent (read: swing state election decider) is going to view this as a nothing burger.   
Even if this doesn’t hurt us politically, it’s ugly and frustrating as someone who truly believes the Democratic Party is d the party that respects the rule of law, transparency and consistency >

My theory is that they will find the documents were planted by someone.  That is what special counsel will find. >

At his house and think tank? This was known internally before the MidTerms and they haven't leaked anything to soften the blow. If anything they made it worse by having Biden go on 60 minutes and ridicule Trump for what he knew he also had done. >

That is what they are setting up for. I just saw Biden respond and he can't even read the statement properly. >

This is bad comedy.  Biden should never have put Garland in charge of the DOJ.  And he's had ample reason to fire him over the past two years.  Garland is still a member of the Federalist Society.  Hur was a Trump appointee and is part of the same law firm that gave us the idiot judge down in FL that put the Special Master in charge of the Trump documents case.  
At the same time the DOJ and FBI have not searched other Trump properties where he is known to have kept additional stolen documents.  And Trump hosted the Saudi's at Bedminster for a golf tournament after it was known he had classified material.
I'm sure Biden and his team will handle this investigation professionally and honestly.  But now we get to spend the next two years dealing with false equivalency and Republican conspiracy theories.   
While we're at it Biden needed to Fire Cristopher Wray as head of the FBI and clean house at both the DOJ and FBI of any and all Trump appointees.  Leaving Republicans in charge of major institutions has been a severe mistake for the past two Democratic administrations. >


Garland is still a member of the Federalist Society

Garland has never been a member of the Federalist Society. This is a misinformation meme that everyone just accepts. >

Maybe you should read your own sources...

A person listed as a contributor has spoken or otherwise participated in Federalist Society events, publications, or multimedia presentations. A person's appearance on this list does not imply any other endorsement or relationship between the person and the Federalist Society.

So not a member. >

So many comments deflecting from the issue and bringing up Trump lol >

Is this how we get Kamala? >

My thoughts on this are divided. It can turn into a  Hillary's Email 2.0, but it does call the GOP's bluff and take wind out of their talking points. >


and take wind out of their talking points.

It won't because they don't care. They'll simply move to another talking point they invent. Just watch. >

I know that. It's not the crazies I'm worried about. >


It's not the crazies I'm worried about.

All of the ones who care/pretend to care about this are "the crazies". Nothing is going to take the wind out of their talking points. >

my odds are on this nothingburger to be completed by noon on monday. >


nothingburger

I wish that word would die. Do we really want to emulate the lexicon of the donald subreddit? >

Weird how much less this matters when it isn't Trump... >

It matters less because biden self reported it and turned the docs over. He's not hiding that he had them, he's not forcing the FBI to raid him to recover the docs. It's weird how you can't tell the difference... >

Hahaha no he did not!! The documents were found!! Biden says he doesn't know anything about it >

I'll ask again... found by whom? His lawyers. And they were reported directly by his lawyers. You're hiding behind "they were found" like you don't understand it was his team that found them. >

Biden didn't self report anything. He insists he knows nothing about it. So you are hiding behind false facts that Biden has turned anything over to anyone. But why did the DOJ not saying anything til after the midterms considering they knew prior. >

You're just blatantly lying or trying to hide behind phrasing. Biden doesn't personally move out of an office, his staff does. Biden didn't personally call the DOJ, his lawyers did. He said he was informed but had no idea they were there. There was no doj or fbi searching for these docs, bidens staff and lawyers absolutely turned these docs over before anyone realized they were gone. You're flat out lying if you're implying anything different. >

I hope they give him a month in prison just to get precidence. Biden would do it with a smile on his face knowing Trump will get a few years. >

Trump planted them! 
/s >

Get ready here come president Harris! >

Not that quick. Biden moves only slowly in general. >

Good.  What's good for the goose, is good for the gander ... and I say that as someone who thinks Trump should be locked up for a decade or more given what he did.
Honestly, this was probably the only right move in a bad situation.  Appoint a different special counsel, have them follow the same investigative patterns, and then at the end - in very precise and legal wording - one can highlight all the ways where this situation is dramatically different (hopefuly) than NARA-lag-o with its deliberate obfuscation, misdirection, and frankly probably outright willful lying. >

Good move by Garland. Specifically, a good move strategically, from an optics vector, to appoint a special counsel who was previously a Trump appointee - to the position of United States Attorney for the District of Maryland. >

DOJ playing politics?  i thought it was supposed to be above politics? >

The DOJ is a political organization, as are all entities within/underneath/linked-to/etc. the executive branch; any understanding to the contrary is a defective understanding. Being a political organization has no correlation to "playing politics", "being above politics", etc.  
Now, as far as pragmatism goes:
• If I was a sitting AG serving underneath a Democrat President, and needed to investigate that President, I'd appoint the most qualified, Democrat hating, Republican attorney that I could find.
• If I was a sitting AG serving underneath a Republican President, and needed to investigate that President, I'd appoint the most qualified, Republican hating, Democrat attorney that I could find. >

Doh! >

Why do Democrats not play hardball and ignore this issue. Why do Republicans get a pass, but Democrats prostrate and self immolate themselves over everything?  This gives ammo to conservative whataboutism. Sickening the left never misses a moment to shoot themselves in the foot. >

[tinfoil hat on] What if papa Joe leaked this as House Republicans are going to be making a stink about Hunter's dick pics in order to take some heat off of him? Prolly not but that would be the weirdly nicest thing a dad could do for his grown ass son... >

As he should. 
Don't give them anything to cry about (but we all know they will.) >

I voted for Biden. I’m fine with this >

WHAT?  Let me get my Biden flags and confederate flags and strap them to my 4x4 and head to a Biden rally to demand the dissolution of the FBI and the Justice department and
wait, is it snowing?
Nah, let em do their jobs... >

Good. Innocent people have nothing to worry about and can be confident when they disclose the truth in full. Unlike Trump. >

I'm honestly quite speechless at how Biden was senile enough to keep beating Trump round the head with this, over and over and over, and at no point did he think, will this come back on me? Should I check to see that I haven't made the same mistake? Am i whiter than white?
Sure, it's not as bad as what Trump has done and is still doing but he still looks like hypocrite and in politics, that's just as bad. >

Thank God - shut up the f ing republicans so we can move on. Special counsel will find nothing!  Repeat - nothing! >

Hmmm.. seems like a big waste of tax payers money. Like that one time the CIA wasted 25 millions dollars on trying to use cats for spying. >

I’m assuming r/conservative is over there having a never ending orgasm right now yeah? >

Obama should step in and say he declassified those documents with his mind, I would like to see Trumps reaction. >

Obama would have to on order to prevent Biden's doom. But Obama said it best "never underestimate Joe's ability to fuck things up" >

As it should be. 
I didn't vote for Biden in the primaries, he was not my first choice. But, when it came down to it I did vote for him. 
But, like most people on the left, I'm not a fan of any of these people. They are picked to do a job and I expect them to do the job while following the rules. If he broke the rules then he should get whatever punishment is appropriate. 
I've successfully managed to leave several jobs without taking any important documents with me. 
It's just laughable that this is the world we live in, one where we keep electing old white guys who can't follow basic rules. 
I hope we do better. 
I still feel like this is being handled better than Trump handled his own debacle- but, it shouldn't have happened in the first place. >


I still feel like this is being handled better than Trump handled his own debacle- but, it shouldn't have happened in the first place.

Everything is a circus with Trump because that's what he makes it. It's his entire M.O. >

You know what pisses me off is that this happened within days of finding out that biden had classified documents. Fucking days how long did it take to get a special counsel together for fucking trump. Throw them both in prison, but stop being stupid merrick garland. To think I was upset that you didn't get to the Supreme Court. You suck. >

Can we copy and paste all the “lock him up” post from when Trump was accused of the same? 
Also, I think a search of the residences in in order. >

The fact that they knew about it since November before the election and hid it tells you everything. >

The fact Republicans wanted to try to turn a self reported into a false equivalency for political gains tells you everything you need to know. >

Do you understand that classified documents are being located in several locations? And the VP does not have the authority to declassify documents? Nothing is being "turned in", things are being found >


Do you understand that classified documents are being located in several locations?

My understanding is there were docs found in two locations, not several. is that different from your understanding? Sounds like they were packing up an office and found 10 docs, then they started scouring everywhere to see if there were any other documents.

the VP does not have the authority to declassify documents

The authority to declassify documents is completely irrelevent to this conversation. If the documents in either trump or bidens possession had been declassified they would have been dated and marked as such and there wouldn't have been a story with either. That did not happen with any of the docs. Also, Biden had retained his clearance and Trump got his pulled. One can argue the docs were stolen or not secured though that doesn't seem to be the arguement that's being made. Also, Biden currently has authority to have those docs now. If he was trying to cover up shit, wouldn't he just say "I recently moved them under authority of my office"? This seems too easy to cover up if you put an ounce of thought into it. You can't logically believe he's "getting caught" with anything. 

Nothing is being "turned in", things are being found

Who found these documents? Bidens lawyers. Who notified the department of Justice? Bidens lawyers. Who removed classified comments from their folders and hid them while the national archives, doj and FBI were pushing him to return them? Oh wait... that wasn't Biden. >

I appreciate the time you took to fact check this fool who keeps posting that trash throughout this thread.  You are spot on with everything you said. >

It's like the talking point is "Trump is the victim of false narrative, see Biden does it too" and in order to prove it were gonna purposefully misrepresent this.
Btw- happy cake day. >

/r/politics in shambles >

House will impeach Biden over this. 
Senate will aquit.
Both Trump and Bidens handling of classified material is mind boggling. So was Hillary’s as well. I’m sure there is a ton of mishandling by others we never hear about.
Wonder if this gives Biden a moment of pause to rethink possibly running in 2024. >

Does the GOP House really want to set a precedent of impeaching Presidents for things that occurred years before they were elected? >

Pretty much. They still want to impeach Hillary for Pizzagate. >

Biden is a mess. >

Well he certainly is less of a mess than 45 >

Biden needs to sue. >

sue...who? >

And for what? What an odd take. >

Should have added a /s >

it's okay bro
this sub has wild takes so i didn't know >

Legit question, I've been busy as hell all week. Caught a very brief snippet of this. Are these documents from when he was VP that were just found? Or are they newer documents that happened to be found in old VP quarters? >

old docs from his time as VP >

This has the stink of Weiner.  Anthony Weiner's laptop was found, was nothing, but kept people talking about it long enough to lose the presidency to Trump.
Glad they're getting ahead of this. I look forward to reading the report. >

Weiner the gift that keeps on giving. >

We just really gotta get to the bottom of this! >

Waste of time and tax dollars but has good optics. >

You know, like how normal things work >

To pretend like this is the same thing as Trump’s possession of controlled information is absurd, but alas, they must be treated the same given the absolute shambles of a society we live in. Anti-intellectualism will be the downfall of us all >

Good >

Ok, no problem, but where are those Jan 6 indictments? >

Good >

were golf shoes found with these documents? >

Biden… >

Do a complete investigation, gather the evidence, follow all procedures and the law, seek justice without fear or favor no matter who is involved.  Figure this mess out. >

Fully agree - and I'd actually like the investigation to be concluded swiftly since the ones being investigated will likely be 100% cooperative.  It's not like DoJ will have to be dealing with full on liars and criminals which takes forever to find the answers. >

I 100% agree that there ought to be a reasonable investigation into this but I do have to wonder if any of this matters at all given that Biden is currently the president and therefore has not only the right to have classified information but also the ability to declassify that information.
Not trying to make excuses for the oversight (or lack thereof) of classified documents, but it seems to me as though this requires an investigation into how classified documents are handled during and after individuals have been given such status and after said status has lapsed.
Let's be perfectly honest, if they had taken different actions on the first set of documents, we likely wouldn't even know about this because there was nobody searching for them.
Had Biden and his lawyers actually been seriously corrupt, they could easily have disposed of them in a fireplace or down a toilet and no one would know the better.
The fact that they brought this directly to the attention of the proper authorities is at least proof that they do have respect for the rule of law and are willing to except the consequences, even if it is going to be used to make political hay while the sun shines.
That said, this likely has huge implications for executive privilege, especially to the extent that the former president argued he had. I personally do not have a problem with the minister of th Office of the President being able to be held accountable for their actions but only if it is equally applied across the board and not just something that we will have to deal with when presidents from the Democratic party are being scrutinized. >


has not only the right to have classified information but also the ability to declassify that information.

He does.  But apparently these docs were from his Vice Presidency under Obama.  So, it's a bit uncertain.
And it really undermines at least one of the central charges you could have lodged against Trump, that everyone that is able to access classified documents has a substantive responsibility to make sure they are handled appropriately.  The "oh, well, we had to leave in a hurry and things just got mixed up" arguments Trump could have made before would have had little merit - especially when you consider previous historic cases where even a single doc mishandled ended up with someone in jail.
But now Trump will be able to dilute that charge completely.  He's still fucked on obstruction and everything else (hopefully). >

Classified != Compartmentalized, Top Secret, etc. >

I agree with you, but I was recently informed that sources say some of these classified documents were classified Top Secret.
It does appear as though ABC is confirming that sources are saying that some of these were top secret documents.

Sources also told ABC News that the original batch of about 10 documents found in November contains classified vice-presidential briefing papers about foreign countries, some of which were marked top secret.

And CNN is not even using the journalistic term source, going so far as to assert that some of these documents were top secret.

Some of the classified documents were “top secret,” the highest level. They were found in three or four boxes that also contained unclassified papers that fall under the Presidential Records Act, CNN has reported.

If we are going to maintain Integrity about the treatment of top secret classified documents, it is important to hold both sides accountable for their retention of documents.
Thank goodness that Biden's lawyers were up front with the FBI and NARA rather than lying about the retention of documents and obstructing an investigation.
I really hope that Biden doesn't try to use the executive privilege argument to keep himself from investigation, but this is likely going to be a permanent stain on his reputation and definitely opens up the presidential field in the Democratic Party for 2024. >

Why would this be a permanent stain on Biden’s reputation? >

Because it will 100% be used along with whataboutism to suggest that Biden was going after Trump for the same thing that he was caught doing, regardless of the fact that Biden was not responsible for the investigation into Trump's documents has not been outspoken about the retention of documents, subsequent Lies by his lawyers, and obstruction.
I'm not saying that it is going to be fair, or even rational but it is going to cause a stain and that will be used to pillory him. >

So in essence, this is only going to be a stain in the minds of people who are rather brainless to begin with….gotcha >

Also, completely casual people who don't follow politics at all and just read a headline or a blurb.  They will see trump and Biden having done the same thing and reach the conclusion that one is just as bad as the other.
Most people really don't follow politics to any degree.  The amount of people I know that I had to tell about Roe v Wade being overturned and what that even means is concerning. >

My favorite part of this:
No raging tweets from the president making up executive powers. Accusing people of planting evidence and arguing about a deep state conspiracy against him. >

I’d be hilarious if he copy pasted one of trumps tweets and ended it with JK I’m not a raving lunatic in a middle of a tantrum. >

That would be some great dark Brandon shit. >

I am all for a special counsel being appointed. But a Trump appointee feels like an attempt by Garland to bend over backwards to show just how apolitical he is. If he wanted to reach across the aisle, he couldn’t find a Bush appointee rather than someone appointed by a man who literally tried to upend the Republic and is known for appointing partisan hacks? >

This is how Garland has been acting since appointed. It’s like he’s so terrified of being perceived as biased against repubs that he instead acts biased against dems. He has truly been a failure at AG.. even more of a letdown than Mueller >

Well, Garland is a conservative…..  people think that he must be left wing because Obama nominated him for SCOTUS.  NOPE! - he’s right wing and Obama was throwing the GOP a bone.  The GOP just hated Obama so fucking much they slapped down a nominee that aligned with them. >

True, Biden should have appointed someone else >

When Garland was first announced, I figured it was just another corporate Democrat move. these days I’m not sure I was entirely wrong. >

Only took a year and a half to appoint one for Trump. Also what about that DOJ policy about not investigating and prosecuting a sitting president which protected the former guy for, what, six years now? >

Garland is not our friend. >

Garland is not a friend to justice.
Why has Trump not been indicted yet?  What's the confusion? >


Why has Trump not been indicted yet?

why would you expect him to have been? the investigation isn't over yet >

it explains why they weren't indicted in the article >

Some anonymous lawyer being quoted by CNN is not a definitive explanation at all.  It's hearsay and well-meaning bullshit.  But when the DOJ was asked?  "A spokesperson for the Department of Justice declined to comment."  But if you do believe that anonymous source, do you really think they have executive privilege, as your source says?  How TF do "advisors" get privilege? >

they worked in the White House >

Bad enough that everyone bought that crap, "The president is immune to criminal prosecution and subpoenas."  But now we're going to extend it to anyone who worked in the White House?!  Holy cow you can't possibly believe that's a good idea. >

As. We. Would. Expect. 🤷‍♂️ 
Can't wait until Biden whines, makes excuses, tries to get a special master, claims that they where declassifi...... Oh wait. Dems don't do any of that. >

It doesn’t even matter cause republicans don’t care about mishandling classified document- oh wait…now they do. >

Biden isn't asking for a special grand master or looking for a favorable court... weird. >

Love how it took 2 years to do this for trump, and he ain't even president, 2 days for Biden and he is president. 
To be clear, I'm not saying there shouldn't be an investigation, I'm saying Garland is showing his true colors pretty strongly with the disparity.
Edit: I'm muting this thread, not trying to get banned for cussing some fool out again.   Have a good night y'all. >

It's funny to read these articles. I read the Times article and they are going out of their way to only use Trump-appointed individuals. It's like you can't have any credibility unless Trump appointed you. Do they not see how this is completely legitimizing Trumpism? 
I get that it is an attempt to show impartiality. It's just kind of funny that being a Trump-appointed X automatically gives you an air of legitimacy in this country. >

This is definitely a flaw in the approach of rational actors. So many people who are trying to push back against pseudoscience/fake news/nonsense will go out of their way to avoid cries of bias. And the people who have the same mindset find it reassuring. But for people trying to break the system, you've just tied yourself in a knot to win a battle that they were never interested in. They love it when we take our time and cross our I's and dot our T's, because they can use that time to just come up with more BS that makes the effort seem pointless.
And in this case, I think you are absolutely right. We are so focused on how indicating it is that 45's own people rule against him that we lend them credence for the rare cases that they agree with us. When in reality, we should be standing by the appointees who never dealt with the devil in the first place.
Fox News will use liberal appointee as a dirty word and then we play into that distrust. We won't promote faith in our system while we entertain baseless doubts. >

Weird how Garland can move with lightning speed when it’s a cover-your-ass political move. Lightning speed. >

Yep, so amazingly fast.  Hey Merrit, how are those other 4 year old cases coming along? >

They’ve been investigating trump for a while. They only moved the case to special counsel when he announced candidacy for president for ethics reasoning. Since Biden’s already president, ethically a special counsel is also the best way to investigate this >

Yes, for awhile.  Like long, long, long before he lost in 2020. Long, Long before the 2024 midterms.  Long before Monday when the first Biden doc leak happened.  I’d like to see Garland show up and put some facts out on how well those other cases are going. >

How's that Trump indictment coming? >

2020: almost. 
2080: almost there.
2300: finally reached a verdict. >

Woah there!!!!  Let's not rush this. >

As a Democrat I am pretty pissed off at Biden for this, but I would be willing to bet he didn't know the documents were there.  
That said, I am a strong believer in people being punished for breaking the law, even if they are on my "team."
If he broke the law, punish him.  
Just make sure that that miserable, racist orange thing that yells all the time gets his as well.
This is the only way to have nice things. >

I am more republican than democrat, but I agree with everything you said. 
Americans are sick and tired of people skating by unpunished. Its a clear divide between our overlords and the rest of the population. If you are an elite, you basically get a free pass on most things except heinous crimes.
And if it is heinous, they will cover that up too. Just like Epstein. >

Classic democrat dipshittery. Republicans are literally trying to rid the world of democracy and democrats not only have no message for that, they can’t take two steps without face planting. >

Weird. I thought the DOJ didn’t want to investigate presidents. >

Indict* but yes, this was rapid considering the other guy. >

I swear to God if they indict Biden before they indict Trump, I'm gonna... not be surprised at all. Totally on brand for this timeline. >

Currently, they have nothing to indict Biden on. >

This proves that Garland is exquisitely sensitive to (Republican) public opinion, which proves to me that he will never indict Trump. >

All it proves is that House Democrats are willing to investigate Biden along with republicans. Investigating Trump isnt bipartisan clearly like it should be. >

Yeah this is more "let's get done with this as quickly as possible because it's stupid and there's nothing to it" not "let's drag it out for years because the end result is awful for us" >

I don’t feel like repeating the same thing about how anyone with an ability to have a nuanced thought doesn’t understand what Trump and Biden didn’t weren’t one in the same, but I’m so fucking sick of Democrats bending over backwards to appear impartial. Announcing an investigation this quickly, a Trump appointed judge. Good job, Mer. I’m sure now the right will stop pretending your this evil communist. Oh, no they won’t. They’ll STILL pretend he is, and that the DOJ was out to get Trump and that there’s some awful double standard in favor of Biden. 
God. The same fucking shit. Just over and over letting the right dictate the pace and narrative. They’re NEVER, ever being won over. Ever. Ever. Ever. Ever. Ev-fucking-er. They’ll never return the favor. They’ll never be adults. They’ll never operate in good faith. They’ll never work with you. Stop falling over yourselves to please them. >

So... he can move fast?? >

this is a good move despite what wackos in this sub will say. the alternative would be jim jordan and the house intelligence committee running crazy conspiracy theories over this investigation. 
with this special counsel it will at least be an actual legitimate investigation that will in all likelihood tamper the political effects for biden, as well as create a more legitimate nonpartisan line between this and the trump situation. it won't matter for republicans anyway, but the appearance of impropriety is good!
obviously there's some hiccup in whatever processes for classified documents there are if they can be mixed in with other documents, put in places they aren't supposed to be, forgotten about, etc. and perhaps that can come to light as a result of both of these investigations and those processes can be revised to address these issues, whether intentionally mishandled or mishandled due to ignorance/an accident. >


the alternative would be jim jordan and the house intelligence committee running crazy conspiracy theories over this investigation.  

i don't think is an "either or" kind of situation. you'll still get jim's hot take of the day once they set up the committee. >

sure but as far as document requests and the like it could make it more complicated for the house to go as apeshit as they would otherwise >

No it won't. Because they are not grounded in reality. Just watch. >

I understand the frustration, however, what's the alternative choice? 
Democrats should let immoral and unethical actions of their members? 
Doesn't it sound ridiculous to suggest being lawful and ethical is losing?
What the democrats need to do is clean up their dependence on big donor moneys by making significant changes to the laws surrounding political campaigns. 
When Republican's don't vote for campaign reform, they should be examined carefully by journalists, then shamed for any corruption, and arrested for any crimes. >

I like this comment; there is a core of truth and clearheaded observation within that would likely solve most things political, if we can just convince the first national politician to unlatch from the corporate money tit. Someone has to be the wind-dummy, the maverick, and it would certainly be someone with enough independent wealth to tell the corporations and lobbyists to kick rocks. Hell, if even the congressional leadership adopted this tactic, media pressure would steer the others. 
Sounds very cool. Who’s first? >

God it’s only the second week of 2023 and I’m already burned out >

In my opinion, this pits Newsom against DeSantis, 2024. >

That's basically good news, Biden has produced excellent policies, but might not get many votes against a young candidate. >

That was quick given how long it took him to appoint a special counsel after months of obstruction by Trump. >

So the day after trump announced he was running he appointed a special counsel. The day after Biden (presumptive candidate) is being investigated, appoint a special counsel.... seems consistent. >

I don't know why everyone is making such a big deal about this. Obama declassified all of these documents on his last day in office. He didn't tell anyone, but since he thought it, they are declassified. You can't prove me wrong. >

The difference between Republicans and Dems is on display again. 
No cults, no obstructing. Let the legal system do its thing. >

A complete outrage. It took Garland nearly TWO YEARS of begging Trump pretty please for his documents back AND a warrant before a Special Prosecutor could be assigned on Trump, but within two months, he’s out front and center appointing one on Biden? Fuck all Garland apologists. >

Before Trump announced his candidacy for 2024, Garland didn't need a special counsel.  He could investigate him directly. >

“Could” >

why are you using quotes? he was and is currently being investigated lol >

Oh yeah two years and the Georgia election officials weren’t even subpoenaed until last north by Jack Smith. Tell me more of this mythical investigation you think Garland was doing. >

so you think there was no investigation? >

Sure, as slow walked and as toothless as it could be >

it's not finished lol >

GArlANd NEedS MoRE TiME tO bUiLd A cASE >

and what exactly are your qualifications for investigating and prosecuting someone in federal court for a potential violation of the espionage act/obstruction of justice? >

Sounds good. And if actual malicious intent is found, prosecute anybody involved.   
Y'know, malicious intent like refusing to return the documents, altering some by hand, letting some of them go missing, lying about how many they have, and not cooperating with the DOJ. >

Wonder if anyone will remember either of these cases in 2024 >

Democrats will, Republicans will get selective amnesia. >

Trump and Biden should both be investigated for illegally having classified documents, the more serious crimes are the lying and obstruction of justice.  If you steal a cookie from the cookie jar that’s a “crime” but if you confess to you parents it’s not as bad as if you’re parents catch you and confront you and you lie and try to blame someone else or say they have no authority over cookies and tell them to f-off. Your parents won’t be happy about either situation but one is clearly exponentially worse. >

I voted for Biden and I’m fine with this. >

Same. >

Wow. Took him less than a week. It took him two years to bother looking into Trump. >

Wait - just like that?  Isn't Biden supposed to haggle first? You can't just let them hire a special counsel without first haggling, can you? Making absurd public accusations and laughable self-victimizing? We've sure seen it working like that. Isn't that how it's supposed to work? >

I for one are very disappointed in President Biden for this! >

The GOP know that Biden is their only stopgap between the present and a future with Harris as president, right? >

Garland should appoint a special counsel to investigate. Does anyone really disagree with that? Let’s get to the bottom of this, lay out the facts, and determine how and why this happened. Biden is already fully cooperating. That’s what many Americans wanted to happen in the Trump case, but we have witnessed how hard he and his lawyers have been fighting and resisting and being uncooperative. >

I don't think this will sink him. He is being pretty cooperative it seems so it's not going to make great headlines against him. It's not like Trump where the FBI had to raid his building to get them all. >

It's almost disturbing how fast he's getting on this, yet trump breathes free air. >

Mere days after the first ever article on the entire subject a special counsel is appointed to investigate. 
Does everyone realize how long it takes to get to the point of appointing a special counsel to investigate trump, for anything, including this same crime only worse? 
this country is so fucked. >

Is it just me or does he seem a lot quicker to leap into action against Biden then he's been regarding Trump. >

The public has such a false and skewed notion of "fair and non partisan" that moves like this are largely pointless. If the evidence is convincing, it doesnt fucking matter how you launch a trial. >

This is a great opportunity to show what cooperating with an investigation looks like so we can make direct comparisons to the orange shitgibbon and his posse of clown lawyers. >

To what end? You can't squeeze juice out of a rock, not even with a most special counsel. The GOP is not a party of reason. Just like HRC going before their Benghazi committee for 6 hours...did that stop them? Heck no! >

So Trump took almost two years to investigate and Biden takes a couple days. Is Garland a Republican by any chance? >

JFC - I came here to say this. >

Well that was fast! >

Cool there should be. Wish someone from the cult would expect the same if their messiah. >

Cool, sounds reasonable. >

Seems normal. I imagine this will go significantly faster since Biden won’t block everything imaginable. >

doocy on fox news right now is the hardest he's been since Jen Psaki's last CBT session on national TV with him in the press core. >

r/conservative is showing once again how stupid they are, they actually think this is comparable or worse than trump. The lies they tell themselves to make their narrative believable to themselves is insane. >

I'm a Democrat,  voted for Biden. If he fucked up, he should face the consequences. >

It's amazing how quiet my feed is with this news. The very first time this popped up on Reddit, there were 500+ comments all saying this was fake news by a conservative (?) CNN or NBC News conglomerate. >

He's always been a republican. Coward refuses to prosecute Trump. >

Good. This is how it should be. >

Corrupt Garland took his ass time to investigate Trump, even go as far as shielding him against all investigations, but was quite quick to jump on the Biden files. Spineless corrupt Republicans. >

Giving Republicans such a gift is Democrats in a nutshell, sigh. >

I am into this and I voted for the guy. I wish people could be like that about the other guy. >

Same. >

this is good. >

One thing I’m sure of is that Biden will cooperate with the investigation >

Good. Better the Justice Department do it now than wait until the inevitable House Hang Biden Committee. >

Might be a way the White House can have a new candidate for 2024. Even though the handling of these documents is much less nefarious (aka not at al) than trump, it could be a way out to be like, “oh shoot, so having any classified documents is wrong, I guess I can’t run in 2024, and neither should trump. I guess we need to find a new Democrat to run.” >

How did he do this so quickly? Shouldn't this type of action take 2ish years? >

Trumps still going to fucking prison. Lol this shit isn’t gonna stop his investigation. Or make everyone forget. That compare to Biden. He’s a piece of fucking shit. The literal worse thing to come out of satans asshole. >

This seems like it should be a bigger story >

I got downvoted for even posting an article in the Guardian about the second lot of docs being found. People on hopium wanted to pretend it was trivial and not a nightmare for Biden. >

It's wild that Biden will definitely get punished for this before Trump does. Politically and legally, the double standard couldn't be clearer. >

Wait!  I've seen this one before, it's a rerun. >

Motherfucker needs to court martial Charles Flynn >

He's dotting his Ts and crossing Is. Merrick always gets his guy. >

🤣nicely done >

Why do I feel like the government is done working for the people and has just devolved into a reality television show? >

Everyone still thinks this guy is going after GOP thugs??? 🤡🤡🤡🤡🤡🤡🤡🤡🤡🤡 >

Personally this seems to be accidental and completely different than Trump (who was purposely hoarding), but please fully investigate to make sure.
My question is how common is this.  How often does the National Archive receive documents from past president that are found accidentally etc?? >

I imagine the investigation will be fast and swift. 
It's a very simple story. Biden fucked up and forgot about some documents. Cooperated fully when his team realised, returned them. If they want to do a search of his office/homes, fine, best to be sure there's no wrongdoing. It's right for there to be an investigation and it's right for there to be a SC. There's not much else to say. Can't see why this would take more than a few months - Biden and his team will cooperate fully and there's really not much there, unless there's much more going on under the surface. 
I don't think anyone on the left should be worried, and the betting markets don't really seem to give a shit from what I can tell. 
Only bad thing is it gives the MAGAs another shitty excuse for Trump. >

They can do this in ONE DAY but it takes fucking years to do anything about trump? And were still waiting for that? 🖕garland >

You realize the DOJ was investigating Trump since they were referred to by the National Archives back in 2021? It only took 1 day for the DOJ to appoint a special counsel to Trump after announced his campaign. It’s not that hard to understand >

Took him all of a handful of days while it took him literal years to do this with Trump.
Rules for Republicans are not the same as rules for Democrats. >

Lmao they are moving at warp speed on Biden. >

It's a lot easier when Biden is fully cooperating and giving them everything he has even before they ask for it. >

Oh I agree. He also isn’t ordering them not to investigate >

Anyone who's not concerned about Garland slowrolling the prosecution against Trump did not pay attention to the Mueller investigation. Back then everyone was saying "Just wait! He has to gather all the evidence first!" Then it turned out Mueller bungled it by making his investigation as narrow as possible, and Trump escaped justice.
The rules are simply different for Republicans, and the Democrats enable it. When Republicans investigate Democrats, they appoint hardliners and go all-out, grasping at every single straw. When Democrats investigate Republicans, they appoint conservatives, spend years on the investigation, and end up not doing anything. Republicans let other Republicans get away with murder, and Democrats throw the book at other Democrats to appear "nonpartisan". It's all a scam. >

Jesus christ man. Trumps right fucking there burning down everything but sure. Sure. >

Hey now don't be silly....meadows as the one burning stuff trump only tore them up, chewed them lightly and flushed them down the toilet. >

This guy and Robert Mueller - what disappointments they turned out to be. >

Republicans are going to be pissed when nothing happens because Biden properly worked with the DOJ. Donny could've avoided all of his trouble if he just cooperated like an adult, even after getting free pass after free pass. They tried to make it easy for him to make it a non-issue and he just refused to take the easy out. >

Got right on it when it involved a Dem president didn't they? Where was this sense or urgency and transparency with the Trump document debacle? 
Yep, still can't trust the DOJ >

Merrick Garland took two years to appoint a special counsel to Trump but he took 1 week to appoint a special counsel to Biden. Is he trying to please the Republican house or someone powerful is really trying hard that Biden don't run again. What an idiotic decision. He is giving fuel to republicans. Any normal person would understand that Biden administration is co-operating with the appropriate authority to resolve this matter. I am so disappointed at Merrick Garland.