comment: >
context: The discovery was made by Mr Biden's own lawyers. 
  They launched a search of his properties after 10 classified documents from when he was vice president were found in his personal office at a think tank in Washington. 
  
  The biggest fucking difference between this situation and Trumps. Not saying its good but seems to be just an accident. >
  
  This "just an accident" would get my ass fired. >
  
  Makes sense. And if it wasn't an accident but was deliberate, and then when discovered you lied and refused to return the documents you would be in even more trouble. >
  
  I’m 100% convinced that there are boxes of classified documents just sitting around in dozens of not hundreds of offices, homes, and vehicles of politicians. But of course instead of implementing any actual solutions or systemic accountability, we’re going to continue to cherry-pick specific instances of classified documents being found and tailor the consequences on the current circumstances of their role in government. There needs to be more accountability for our leaders. >
  
  The solution would be to get an accurate representation of what they covered and let the electorate decide. >
  
  Even if accidental and with less papers the optics of this looks very bad. >
  
  I wholeheartedly agree. This whole "it's not as bad as trump" bullshit excuses are driving me insane. What trump did is bad. What Biden did is bad and we need to treat them as separate events. There is zero reason for Biden to have government documents from the Obama administration ... they belong to the US government and NARA. 
  Protocols should have been followed and they clearly weren't. 
  I can see this fucking up the slam dunk case against prosecuting trump. >
  
  Or could result in Trump and Biden both being charged? >
  
  Doubt it, the top 5 are given a lot more wiggle-room with classified info, including crap like this. The only reason charges might be brought up against Trump is because he threw a temper tantrum and refused to return classified documents when asked to return them, and lied about doing a sweep in good faith. If he returned all of the documents when first asked to by NARA, he'd be in the same boat Biden is in now. >
  
  
  If he returned all of the documents when first asked to by NARA, he'd be in the same boat Biden is in now.
  
  If Biden had been under investigation since Nov and the FBI had searched his garage say a week ago, they would have found his corvette and a box of top secret documents.
  They both need to be charged,  they can defend their reckless and dangerous methods there. >
  
  They didn't search Trump's hotels on a whim. This was done after multiple demands by both NARA and the FBI to return the documents. This is part of giving the top 5 more wiggle-room. Literally nobody else but the top 5 gets these chances to return classified info.
  I'm not against charging both, the current exceptions and wiggle room that we give the top 5 in the spirit of allowing them to do their jobs more effectively needs to be reviewed with a fine tooth comb and put into explicit writing rather than internal policies.
  Ironically, any changes to this policy would have to come from Biden. >
  
  Here's the key sentence to all of this:
  ​
  These were the other locations where "files from his Vice-Presidential office might have been shipped in the course of the 2017 transition."
  ...............................................
  ​
  2017 transition. Likely people were packing up to leave, like Trump, and did it sloppily. An accident. Not a staged cover up like Trump.
  Still looks bad but legally he still should be fine. I'm cool with him using this as an excuse not to run though. >
  
  Legally he's almost certainly fine. The thing Trump is being looked at for is "willful retention". Deliberately taking classified documents, and refusing to return them.
  There's no sign of anything like that with Biden.
  There are rules and processes for this because shit like this happens. And you want it to be investigated when it does happen, even if there's no expectation of a crime. So you know how the fuckup happened, and if and to what extent it caused a risk.
  So just because the DOJ is involved doesn't mean it's even meant as any kind of criminal investigation. There's a standard operating procedure and intelligence motivation in looking into this situation. Apart from any checking for criminal activity.
  The criminal part with Trump is in refusing to participate in that procedure, in hiding it, in doing all of this deliberately. >
  
  Why are our government officials so careless with classified information? >
  
  When everything is classified or important then it starts to lose its meaning and people get lazy honestly >
  
  Stop with the whataboutism. Biden fucked up and the worst part about this is now Democrats lost the argument and any political capital that was gained from Trump’s case. >
  
  Unfortunately, they knew about this before the election but we are just hearing about it. >
  
  I call BS on this >
  
  What the FUCK Biden?!
  I’m asking the question no one is asking that we keep giving Biden cover for:
  How did he get SO MANY classified documents out of the White House?! >
  
  Likely he didn't. Some aid or something probably packed up a bunch of boxes. >
  
  Why are classified documents just laying around to be available to be packed up in boxes by aids that probably don't even have the clearance to view them? >
  
  They absolutely could have had the proper clearance. If you’re working at the White House, you have at least some level of security clearance. The only ones we should even be worried about is anything labeled ‘compartmented’ clearance…and the information in those is likely not even relevant anymore. >
  
  It’s wild watching people flip their stance on this now that Biden is caught with classified docs lmfaoooo >
  
  Its wild watching clowns pretend the two situations are remotely similar lmfaoooooo
  One took them and then lied and refused to return them for over a year, forcing the feds to raid his home.
  The other found some that were mistakenly left behind, called the proper authorities to fix it, and then ordered a sweep of anywhere else there might have been some just in case.
  Lmfaoooooo indeed, clown >
  
  He had them for SIX YEARS in many different locations including a think tank funded by the chinese govt.  This Biden situation is way worse and we are still getting more details about it!!! >
  
  If I read one more “but it isn’t as bad as Trump” comment I’m gonna go insane. It doesn’t matter what anyone else did. They should be held accountable for their actions and so should anyone else. 
  Why are classified documents being found in a garage? That’s obviously not where they belong >
  
  They should be held accountable? Ok, one example has the person declaring the government’s property as his own and who reportedly took actions to hide what he took, the other had a team find docs and reported it. >
  
  Why was this found out sooner. It's so sudden and strange. Like as if it was planted, or staged. >
  
  They probably were instructed to do a thorough sweep, no conspiracy here. >
  
  House of Representative is now Republican.  Better sweep for those top secret documents Biden took without reporting to the National Archives. >
  
  “Yeah but this is fine because trump did a more illegal thing.”
  The two party system at work, ladies and gents. >
  
  Punish them both appropriately to the level and intent that they did bad. I lean (D) and don't care if Biden gets hit by it too. Those documents should have never left the WH (except to go to the National Archive).  
  Trumps intent was obviously worse. Stall tactics, ignoring deadlines, etc. This was Biden's lawyers trying to "rectify the issue" in a sense. But both did bad. Both should be investigated as such, with consequences appropriate to both issues. >
  
  Honestly it’s good they’re being turned over, but this looks pretty bad. >
  
  What are the chances this is an intentional effort to create an excuse for not prosecuting TFG? >
  
  I don't think it's intentional and I never thought the DOJ was going to prosecute in the first place. It does give the DOJ additional reasons why they will ultimately decide not to prosecute. >
  
  The motivation to prosecute trump is right there with the motivation to legalize pot. >
  
  Yea sure, all these docs were suddenly “found”. Gaslighting at its finest >
  
  The National Archives knew about Trump's documents.  National Archive knew nothing about Biden's.  So how did Biden get possession? >
  
  Not a good look, Joe. >
  
  Fucking idiots. Glad they're being transparent, but Jesus Christ, man. You just humiliated everyone who gave Trump and his supporters a hard time. >
  
  Lol nope, Trump committed a crime and refused to return the documents that he stole.
  This isn’t even in the same ballpark and to compare the two is like comparing Bernie Madoff to someone who forgot to u-scan an item at the grocery store, realized it, and went back in and paid for it. >
  
  its okay everyone the documents were in his corvette which is locked in his garage >
  
  That doesn't look good, whatever the reasons, given everything that's been happening over the past year (?). I'm not American so I could be totally wrong but I can imagine how this could go down very badly and, in the eyes of conservatives, even further delegitimise/make less important the investigation into Trump and his documents. >
  
  Bullshit.  The differences are myriad and we cannot let Drumpf get away with espionage just because the media narrative could be bad. >
  
  I agree that they are completely different when you get past the surface level. 
  But the problem is the vast majority of the American public doesn't look past the surface level. Which makes it seem exactly the same.
  So now it really just makes any Trump prosecution look hypocritical and partisan. >
  
  Trump sold classified info >
  
  I strongly suspect this is true, but we have not seen proof of this yet. >
  
  I also suspect that, but I think the feds have a vested interest in actively suppressing that kind of evidence because of the damage it would do to our intelligence agencies. >
  
  This is fucking hilarious >
  
  Nah who fr downvoted this for no reason lmao >
  
  Add it to the special council.  This is a pattern and should be investigated. >
  
  Jesus, every day more and more classified shit attributed to Biden is found not locked up in a SCIF where they should be. And every day, the mental gymnastics and Trump whataboutisms used to justify it all in this sub are incredible. >
  
  Do you think the two situations are the same? >
  
  No, they’re not the same. Trump lied incessantly and was forced to hand it all over. The circumstances surrounding the retrieval of said documents were obviously terrible in Trump’s situation.
  The fact that both presidents grossly mishandled classified documents that should have never left the SCIF is in fact the same though, and that alone is a serious issue of national security. Intent is irrelevant regarding the actual fact that neither president was responsible about keeping these documents secure. >
  
  Absolutely needs to be reported and acknowledged once all the facts are out there. Until then, both sides should not be so quick to be wrong >
  
  He's not making it easy to defend him. And he shouldn't be defended anyway. He shouldn't have had them in the first place. That goes for Trump as well. >
  
  Suddenly I have Joe’s Garage from Frank Zappa running through my head. >
  
  Joe doing a remarkable imitation of Jeff Dunham’s Walter in that pic. >
  
  Trumps reelection chances have honestly just improved >
  
  Is there’s not like a library that tracks classified documents?   
  Mr. Biden your classified documents are overdue and need to be returned to the library. >
  
  Millions of documents are classified every year out of a sense of caution.  It's not worth getting in trouble for not doing it, so they do it. Still, Biden sounds unaware and incompetent here and should go.  We don't need 80 year old leaders. >
  
  We are you jokers downvoted? Lol look the other way, hypocrites >
  
  Once again I'll get downvoted. But the biggest news story on the net and zero upvotes on this sub. Please explain why. I'm open to an honest conversation. >
  
  This makes me wonder how many classified documents walk out of our government. >
  
  It will be no problem, because he’s “a good guy”. >
  
  I, uh… 🤦🏽‍♂️ .
  Alright, Jack. Add him to the your Smith list. It’s for the greater good. >
  
  Worse than Trump. He is an embarrassment >
  
  Not even close. >
  
  can someone with as little bias as possible (i realize what subreddit im in) tell me how this relates or compares to trumps documents >
  
  Biden is self reporting and turning content over. Trump withheld content and lied about it's existence.  Biden was VP and Trump was President. It appears Biden retained the documents inadvertantly and Trump took them on purpose. >
  
  There is also a spectacular difference in the type of classified materials. Biden’s are Secret. Trump’s were Top Secret SCI and SAP. To give a clearer example of the difference, a Secret document might be a list of new equipment for an army unit. A Top Secret SCI might be names of human sources in hostile nations or nuclear weapons info or satellite imagery of an enemy. Huge difference. Biden’s fuck up harms no one. Trumps could harm the nation and result in deaths of people.
  And just to be clear, I do not excuse Biden. I think he should not be allowed to run for reelection. >
  
  I don't know that we know that classification levels of the Biden content. I'm aware of the differences. 
  
  I do not excuse Biden. I think he should not be allowed to run for reelection.
  
  The law might excuse Biden.  Are you looking for any reason under the sun for preventing Biden from running? In your scenario what would stop Biden from running? It's not the law. It's not the constitution. Is it the right wing press? >
  
  This is The Telegraph. Let's wait and see. There is still no indication that Biden knew anything about it. It does show that Trump, before lying that he had no documents left, might not have been knowingly holding on to documents. Though some were found in his currently used desk. >
  
  Yeah but did Joe biden try to lead an insurrection where people literally died? Try again