Topline
Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) said Sunday President Joe Biden should “have a lot of regrets” about how he handled classified documents, following the FBI’s discovery of additional classified records at Biden’s Wilmington, Delaware, home–marking one of the strongest Democratic rebukes of the president’s mushrooming documents scandal.
Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) (Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images)
Key Facts
Manchin, speaking on NBC’s Meet the Press, said Biden should admit “it was irresponsible,” but said he does not believe the president “intended” for the documents to be mishandled.
The comments come hours after the White House revealed Saturday that FBI agents found at least six more items with classified markings during a voluntary 13-hour search of the president’s Delaware home on Friday, dating back to his time as vice president and when he served as a U.S. senator.
Biden said Thursday, prior to the new discovery, that he has “no regrets” and was confident the Justice Department’s investigation into the matter would “find there’s nothing there.”
Manchin acknowledged that former President Donald Trump’s response to the discovery of more than 300 classified records in his possession last year was “absolutely” different from Biden’s response, since Trump has contested the merits of the DOJ’s investigation into the matter, while Biden has said he would cooperate.
Manchin and Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) said previously they believe the DOJ made the right decision in appointing an independent special counsel to investigate Biden’s handling of the documents, with Manchin calling Biden’s situation “extremely irresponsible and disturbing,” he told Fox News Digital on Friday.
Key Background
Biden faces a DOJ investigation and mounting attacks on the right after documents were found in his former office at a Washington think tank and his Delaware home. White House lawyer Richard Sauber announced earlier this month that aides found about 10 Obama-era classified documents in Biden’s former office at the Penn Biden Center in Washington, D.C., in November when they were clearing out the space. Days later, Sauber publicly disclosed that aides found six additional classified documents in the president’s personal library and garage at his Delaware home earlier this month and in December. On Saturday, the White House revealed the DOJ found six additional materials, some with classified markings, during a 13-hour search of the property as part of its investigation into the matter. The search was conducted under the direction of a special counsel, U.S. Attorney John Lausch of Illinois, who is set to be replaced by former Maryland U.S. Attorney Robert Hur.
Key Background
DOJ Finds More Classified Documents After Search Of Biden’s Delaware Residence (Forbes)
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/saradorn/2023/01/22/manchin-says-biden-should-have-a-lot-of-regrets-after-fbi-finds-more-classified-documents/