OPINION: This article may contain commentary which reflects the author's opinion.
Texas Republican Sen. Ted Cruz believes that a grand jury should be convened to examine why President Joe Biden was in possession of classified documents from his time as Barack Obama’s vice president after they were discovered at his private office at the Penn Biden Center.
“Attorney General Merrick Garland has assigned the U.S. attorney in Chicago to review classified documents found at the Penn Biden Center for Diplomacy and Global Engagement in Washington,” CBS News reported, citing confidential sources.
“The roughly 10 documents are from President Biden’s vice-presidential office at the center, the sources said. CBS News has learned the FBI is also involved in the U.S. attorney’s inquiry. The classified material was identified by personal attorneys for Mr. Biden on Nov. 2, just before the midterm elections, Richard Sauber, special counsel to the president confirmed,” the report continued.
“The documents were discovered when Mr. Biden’s personal attorneys were packing files housed in a locked closet to prepare to vacate office space at the Penn Biden Center in Washington, D.C. The documents were contained in a folder that was in a box with other unclassified papers, the sources said,” according to the outlet.
“The sources revealed neither what the classified documents contain nor their level of classification. A source familiar told CBS News the documents did not contain nuclear secrets,” CBS News reported.
“The discovery of these documents was made by the President’s attorneys,” Sauber said. “The documents were not the subject of any previous request or inquiry by the Archives. Since that discovery, the President’s personal attorneys have cooperated with the Archives and the Department of Justice in a process to ensure that any Obama-Biden Administration records are appropriately in the possession of the Archives.”
Former President Donald Trump was raided by Biden’s FBI in early August, ostensibly for the same thing — possessing alleged classified materials.
According to Fox News at the time, the raid “was in connection with materials that Trump took with him from his time as president.” The outlet quoted other sources who said the “National Archives and Records Administration referred the case to the Justice Department,” and agents “recovered 15 boxes of classified materials from” Trump’s estate, the outlet continued.
Now, Cruz believes that the standards that were used by Biden’s Justice Department to raid Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate should apply equally to Biden.
“Convene a grand jury,” Cruz tweeted in response to the CBS News report.
convene a grand jury. https://t.co/Me4dgynslK
— Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) January 9, 2023
Absolutely. The FBI raid on Trump was insane, but worse would be to allow a huge Dem/Republican double standard to stand. https://t.co/qgTlJzsY7P
— Dr. Jonny Republic If You Can Keep It 🇺🇸 (@JonDougherty10) January 10, 2023
At the time, Trump addressed the FBI raid on his Truth Social platform.
“Nothing like this has ever happened to a President of the United States before. After working and cooperating with the relevant Government agencies, this unannounced raid on my home was not necessary or appropriate,” he said.
“It is prosecutorial misconduct, the weaponization of the Justice System, and an attack by Radical Left Democrats who desperately don’t want me to run for President in 2024, especially based on recent polls, and who will likewise do anything to stop Republicans and Conservatives in the upcoming Midterm Elections,” he added. “Such an assault could only take place in broken, Third-World Countries. Sadly, America has now become one of those Countries, corrupt at a level not seen before.”
According to CBS News, “Lausch recently briefed the attorney general and will eventually submit a final report to Garland. The review is expected to conclude soon. The Penn Biden Center is a think tank about a mile from the White House, in Washington, D.C., that is affiliated with the University of Pennsylvania and named for the sitting president. The Presidential Records Act requires all presidential and vice-presidential documents be turned over to the National Archives. There are special protocols to keep classified information secure.
Documents in Trump’s possession, according to reports, were also kept locked in a secure location. Also, Trump is guarded 24/7/365 by Secret Service agents who control access to the former president.
Following the raid, Trump said he was concerned that some of the documents that exonerated him in the Russia probe would be destroyed by the new administration, so he rushed to declassify them in his final days as president.
