Rep. Swalwell says both Biden and Trump classified document cases should be treated 'the same'
Rep. Eric Swalwell said Wednesday during an appearance on 'The View' that both Trump and Biden's classified documents cases should be treated 'the same.'
Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif., said Wednesday that both President Biden and former President Donald Trump's classified document cases should be treated "the same" during an episode of ABC's "The View."
"The View" co-host Sara Haines asked Swalwell about the latest discovery of classified documents at Biden's Wilmington, Delaware, home and wondered how serious he believes it is for the president.
Swalwell said that a special counsel was "absolutely appropriate" but added that the president was cooperating "in every meaningful way."
"I know it’s natural to compare this to what the former president has done where it looks like he wanted to keep the documents and is litigating that and fighting it in the courts. What worries me with President Trump is someone who was willing to leverage $350 million of taxpayer money to get dirt on his opponent as he did with the Ukrainians, if he has top secret documents in his possession, that he could leverage that for his own benefit. But again, I think, treat them both the same. Give independent analysis and independent scrutiny, and see where it goes," he said.
Rep. Eric Swalwell joins the hosts of ABC's "The View" on Wednesday. (Screenshot/ABC/TheView)
Co-host Sunny Hostin asked Swalwell if he believed Attorney General Merrick Garland was going to indict Trump or if Biden's own mishandling of classified material would "allow Trump to escape justice once again."
"Everything I know about Merrick Garland is that he truly is independent, and that frustrates a lot of people, his independence," the California congressman said. "He’s going to take each case on its merits and recognizes that the rule of law depends on this."
Co-host Whoopi Goldberg suggested that the classified documents discovered were not actually classified.
"We have no idea what’s in those boxes, and I want the law to look and say, ‘Man. this is recipes from some stuff he was trying to do with her,’ and, you know, because I believe that every president has boxes full of stuff that at one point might have been, you know, classified, but — you don’t take the stuff when it’s still hot. You don’t take the hot stuff, which is what you-know-who did. I can’t say his name. I still can’t," she said in reference to Trump.
From left, "The View" hosts Whoopi Goldberg, Sara Haines, Joy Behar, Sunny Hostin and Alyssa Farah Griffin on Sept. 20, 2022. (Screenshot/ABC/TheView)
On Jan. 10, co-host Alyssa Farah Griffin argued that Biden's document scandal was a "huge win for Trump."
"If you're Merrick Garland, who is already extremely cautious and doesn't want to break the long-standing precedent of not indicting a president, it's very hard to make the case that Donald Trump should be indicted for this, even though the facts are different, when he can argue, ‘Well, now the vice president also took home classified documents.’ I think this kills the case," she said.
President Biden gestures as he boards Air Force One at Nantucket Memorial Airport in Nantucket, Mass., on, Nov. 27, 2022. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
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The hosts demanded more transparency from the president during Wednesday's episode and criticized the "dripping out of information."
"I think it would go a long way to also say ‘and I was careless’ and so we need to not only review these documents but we need to review the processes that are in place," Hostin said.
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