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Washington Post knocks 'sloppy' Biden for classified doc scandal: He should feel 'regret'
By Gabriel Hays
Published January 24, 2023
After President Joe Biden insisted he had "no regrets" about how he mishandled classified documents that were found at his think tank and his Delaware home – and after even more documents were found after he made that statement – the Washington Post editorial board claimed Biden "should be feeling at least some regret."
In an editorial published Monday evening, the board said Biden and his aides were "were sloppy with the handling and storage of sensitive materials, and set a poor example for civil servants entrusted with clearances."
It added that even though Biden has cooperated with the Justice Department’s inquiry into the mishandling and that there seems to be no "intentional wrongdoing" on his part, he is not "off the hook" for the scandal.
DOJ SEIZES MORE CLASSIFIED DOCS FROM BIDEN'S WILMINGTON HOME AFTER 12-HOUR SEARCH
President Joe Biden responds to questions from reporters after speaking about the economy from the White House Campus, Thursday, Jan. 12, 2023. Lawyers for Biden found more classified documents at his home in Wilmington than previously known, the White House acknowledged Saturday, Jan. 14. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik, File)
The editorial came only days after six more classified documents were found at his Delaware home. Prior to this latest discovery, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre claimed the search at Biden's home had been "complete."
The board began its piece, stating, "FBI agents searched his private home in Wilmington, Del., for 13 hours and retrieved six additional items, dating to his time in the Senate and as vice president."
It noted the several previous discoveries of classified documents held by the president in unsecured locations, "This was at least the fifth tranche of classified material discovered since November in unsecured places that have ranged from the Delaware garage where the president parks his Corvette to the Washington think tank where he kept an office during his interregnum between the Obama administration and his own."
The board knocked Biden's seemingly cavalier statements about the misplaced documents, saying he should "be feeling at least some regret." It added, "At a minimum, he and those around him were sloppy with the handling and storage of sensitive materials, and set a poor example for civil servants entrusted with clearances."
Secret Service officers walk the course as President Biden plays a round of golf at Wilmington Country Club in Wilmington, Delaware, on April 17, 2021. (Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images)
The editorial then knocked his team, saying it "could have been clearer much earlier about how much of that material had been found," and it criticized his "defensiveness" on the issue, saying it has "chipped away at the credibility of his claim that ‘people know I take classified documents and classified material seriously.’"
Of course, the Post contrasted Biden’s handling of documents with former President Donald Trump’s own documents scandal, which Biden himself called "totally irresponsible." The board stated, "The current president deserves credit for cooperating with the Justice Department inquiry and giving the FBI free rein to search his home. Mr. Trump vigorously fought federal efforts to retrieve documents that didn’t belong to him."
It also stated, "In another contrast with the former president, Mr. Biden is showing respect for the independence of the department that reports to him."
The piece claimed, "there is also much we still don’t know in Mr. Biden’s case, including the specific nature of the documents and whether anyone else accessed them." It then asked, "Was the president merely careless or could the disclosure of what was in his possession plausibly jeopardize national security?"
General view of the gate to the access road leading to the home of President Joe Biden in Wilmington on Thursday, January 12. 2023. (Dario Alequin for Fox News Digital)
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The board clarified, "So far, there is no evidence of intentional wrongdoing," though it declared, "none of that lets Mr. Biden off the hook. It is important that authority figures try to follow the rules and own up to their mistakes when they make them."
It closed by telling Biden to "ditch the defensiveness," and advised him, "Acknowledging that he has grounds for regret would be a good start."
https://www.foxnews.com/media/washington-post-knocks-sloppy-biden-classified-doc-scandal-he-should-feel-regret