comment: >
  
  Why am I the only one who can see how trump rat f@cked him? I mean the Secret Service is so obviously Coopted…it isn’t that ridiculous of a stretch to suppose they planted these on Joe? But man he looks de-pantsed to me.
context: No one should have any classified documents in their home, in their garage, at their resort, etc. There needs to be better custodian of these documents. 
  With that said, Biden has been very transparent about this whereas Trump and his attorney's have lied, deceived, and refused to cooperate. >
  
  Yep. I don't think that anyone disagrees that the actus reus is there for Biden. The difference is that while Trump escalated his response in a way that there was definitely also a mens rea, Biden... didn't >
  
  TIL the term actus rea >
  
  It's actually actus reus. I had my Latin grammar wrong. But mens rea and actus reus mean guilty mind and guilty act respectively. Broadly speaking, the actus reus is the illegal action itself, while the mens rea is the intention to commit it. A good example is manslaughter vs murder, where the crime of murder implies intent, while the crime of manslaughter is just causing someone's death
  EDIT: They're actually derived from the principle "actus non facit reum nisi mens sit rea" or "an act does not make a person guilty unless their mind is also guilty" >
  
  See I knew what mens rea was but had never heard actus, but once I saw it it made sense what it meant. 
  The act and the intent behind the act, makes sense to me. >
  
  Well, honestly... I feel like we need to do a better job of handling documents. They found some from when Biden was a senator. I get that Biden reported and Trump did not.. But honestly mishandling top secret documents should be a big deal. >
  
  The average person that works with this type of stuff doesn't end up with it in their garage because they follow the rules that are constantly drilled into their head and because they know they'll go to prison for it. It's not really something that is an issue for anyone other than the politicians that apparently can get away with it. >
  
  
  The average person that works with this type of stuff doesn't end up with it in their garage
  
  Do we know that? Senator Biden ended up with it at his house, and no one seemed to miss the document. Make me wonder what else we are not missing. >
  
  Yeah, they both mishandled classified documents in the most general sense. Here’s the critical difference. Trump lied about having them at all and refused to cooperate with NARA for more than an entire year, then turned over a few and lied about having tons more until the FBI had to get a judge involved to seize them, then claimed they were planted, then admitted he stole them as “keepsakes.”
  Biden said ‘oh shit, let’s get these back to NARA’ when they were discovered, agreed to an FBI search to retrieve them and has cooperated the whole way through. >
  
  This is true, but politically speaking, that’s asking American voters to comprehend nuance, always a tall order.
  I’m of the opinion that Biden should take this as a cue to pass the baton and step aside for ‘24. I don’t expect him to, though. >
  
  If the Democrats had anyone else to run in his place I think that might be the play. But who would they be putting up, Kamala Harris? >
  
  Sadly democrats can't elect a woman because the republicans would destroy them with lies and whatabouts when it came to independents and democrats that are on the fence about getting off their asses and voting. The republicans will have a successful female candidate before democrats do. >
  
  That’s probably because Biden and Trump both mishandled classified information.  The degree and intent of their actions isn’t in the same ballpark, but there is absolutely a deep running problem where top level officials, seeming worse amongst the older generations, don’t take security as seriously as they should. >
  
  Huge difference between mishandled and theft. >
  
  Because they did? That's just a fact. They mishandled them in different ways but they certainly didn't handle them properly. >
  
  And why is there.. IDK, some type of inventory control system for these documents? I mean no one missed Biden's, the ones he took as a senator.. How many senators have documents they should not.. How many did Bush, Obama, Clinton, etc take. >
  
  Couldn't Biden have simply printed out some classified emails because he is too old to read it on a screen? >
  
  Of course they both did. The difference is in how they responded to the problem, once it was undeniably apparent to them that they had f*cked up.
  Let's be clear, Biden isn't out of the woods on this either. He knew about this many weeks ago, and his team seemed to think that they could just ignore it while it quietly melted away. That just isn't how things work in DC, and this "own goal" is inexcusable, i.e. it has now made it monumentally harder for DOJ to pursue Two Scoops for his own "documents delicts" (you can grind your teeth about how that is unfair, but that is how politics works). >
  
  Additionally how the problems came to exist. With Biden it was documents getting intermingled, packed away, and forgotten about. With Trump it was intentionally taking documents he thought were valuable and then trying his best to hide/hold on to them. >
  
  Seems like all living presidents homes and work spaces should be looked into. >
  
  Maybe some of the dead ones too. >
  
  Better check George Washingtons office! >
  
  But…both should never have had these type of documents in their private possession! >
  
  Well one took them on the way out.  One should never steal these types of documents and then lie to the DoJ. >
  
  That's most likely true. Probably along with a staggering amount of people with access to them. If you walked out with a document you had access to  and nobody stopped you or asked for it back. You probably wouldn't think it was a big deal The difference  is  intent and how you rectify the problem. Intentionally stealing or copying documents or not returning them is a big deal.  We have no idea yet. What those documents contain.  What might be classified to average citizen could be boring everyday paperwork to them in a lot of instances. >
  
  Sure I’d agree. I’d also say that Trump is criminally liable for obstruction of justice in withholding the documents.
  The two situations are not similar. And the media is doing a disservice to objectivity to paint it as such.
  Plus we have the trump defense…Biden can’t be held charged with a crime while he is in office. >
  
  Yes. Even when sources say things like "although the two cases are very different, many Americans do not think so," or something like this. What Americans think about a situation they actually know nothing about is irrelevant. >
  
  Doesn’t really matter. Unfortunately, Biden’s unintended mishandling of records will make it difficult to pursue trump for record related crimes. >
  
  How? >
  
  Biden also believes he mishandled classified information. The only person who doesn’t think they both mishandled classified information is Donald Trump. >
  
  what percentage believes Biden is trying to obstruct justice? >
  
  As far as Trump he wanted them and took them to own. Biden to be honest probably didnt know they were in his pocession.anyone could have put them there not just Biden. >
  
  Sorry, but I’m not buying the “I didn’t know” bullshit.  Especially considering all the different places they’ve been found and in some cases, they were found with highly personal correspondence.
  Just sayin’: Biden was totally lying when he said he was “surprised.”  He knew he had them. >
  
  Mishandled vs stole? Media and their whataboutism. >
  
  Yep but their is no equivalency between the two cases >
  
  I totally agree but both should be investigated and held accountable >
  
  They both did yes, but there is a huge difference between the two that right-wingers don't understand or left-wingers who are still uninformed as of yet.
  There are already hundreds of comments on why these two cases are distinct. >
  
  The curtain really got lifted on this one. The media is gleeful and a Lot More interested in Biden’s documents then Trump’s which they long ago stopped even asking about.
  Why? The millions of eyeballs and revenue a viable Trump campaign run would mean to CNN and other MSM networks. They need Trump to run and they need to eliminate the narrative of anything that could stop him from running. The hysteria of Biden’s documents make this clear .
  I say investigate both but if you look at how the DOJ is handling Biden’s documents to make republicans happy, treating it far more seriously, they are on a clear path of false equivalency to where they let Trump off the hook  in return for letting Biden off the hook. They never wanted to persecute Trump in the first place. >
  
  Conservative propaganda is a helluva drug >
  
  Bit of a non sequitur there >
  
  Yes. Because the outrage at Trump isn’t happening upon documents that got swept up as he moved out.
  The outrage is willfully taking documents and withholding them with every breath to the point where obstruction could be a legitimate charge.
  These two situations are not similar. >
  
  Another non sequitur. >
  
  “They both mishandled documents” is such a dumb position. It lacks any evidence of critical thinking…it lacks any analysis at all. >
  
  Yeah its like saying summer in iowa and the actual sun are both 'hot'. True, just lacking an absurd amount of context. >
  
  All things are equal. “Both sides do it” >
  
  Good work, CNN and Garland. >
  
  Ngl, I wonder how many other former Presidents, VP’s, Senators, Congressmen, etc. have similar documents floating around their homes and offices? What I DO know is that, unlike what Trump did, they weren’t snatched as potential blackmail material… >
  
  Of course Americans know right from wrong. It’s the destroy Biden Republicans - MAGA supporters hypocrisy that’s the problem. >
  
  Who are they asking? People with land lines and watch cable news? >
  
  Yep. They did. And then trump went further by lying about it, repeatedly hiding documents and refusing to turn them over, claiming it was his right, lying about declassifying them, lying about what he did with them and how he kept them, and then attacking the justice department and FBI for reclaiming them. Two things can be true. >
  
  Biden mishandled them (to a concerning degree). 
  Trump flat-out tried to steal them. >
  
  Yes. But only because they both had classified documents where they shouldn't be. /s >
  
  God social media is so fucked >
  
  I wonder what the polls would show about what Americans believe the reasons WHY each one of them mishandled classified docs? >
  
  Have you ever tried sugar or   PCP? >
  
  Honestly the Biden classified documents thing is such a disappointment.  Because of what’s going on now, there’s a very good chance Donald Trump will win the 2024 election >
  
  If by, "very good chance", you mean, "a non-zero chance", I would agree. I think Trumps chances of ever being elected are extremely low... practically zero, but not zero.