5 reactions to DOJ not charging Biden for mishandling classified documents

By Ryan Foley, Christian Post Reporter Friday, February 09, 2024

U.S. President Joe Biden speaks about the Special Counsel report in the Diplomatic Reception Room of the White House in Washington, D.C., on February 8, 2024, in a surprise last-minute addition to his schedule for the day. A long-awaited report cleared President Joe Biden of any wrongdoing in his mishandling of classified documents in his home and other locations February 8, but dropped a political bombshell by painting the Democrat as a 'well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory.' The report removed a legal cloud hanging over Biden as he seeks reelection in a contest expected to be against former President Donald Trump. — U.S. President Joe Biden speaks about the Special Counsel report in the Diplomatic Reception Room of the White House in Washington, D.C., on February 8, 2024, in a surprise last-minute addition to his schedule for the day. A long-awaited report cleared President Joe Biden of any wrongdoing in his mishandling of classified documents in his home and other locations February 8, but dropped a political bombshell by painting the Democrat as a "well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory." The report removed a legal cloud hanging over Biden as he seeks reelection in a contest expected to be against former President Donald Trump. | MANDEL NGAN/AFP via Getty Images

3. President Joe Biden

While Republicans maintained that the special counsel’s conclusions indicated a two-tiered system of justice, Biden unsurprisingly expressed gratitude for the decision not to press charges against him. In a statement published Thursday, Biden declared, “I was pleased to see they reached the conclusion I believed all along they would reach — that there would be no charges brought in this case and the matter is now closed.”

“This was an exhaustive investigation going back more than 40 years, even into the 1970s when I was a young senator. I cooperated completely, threw up no roadblocks, and sought no delays,” he added. “In fact, I was so determined to give the special counsel what they needed that I went forward with five hours of in-person interviews over two days on October 8th and 9th of last year, even though Israel had just been attacked on October 7th and I was in the middle of handling an international crisis.”

According to Biden, “I just believed that’s what I owed the American people so they could know no charges would be brought and the matter closed. Over my career in public service, I have always worked to protect America’s security. I take these issues seriously and no one has ever questioned that.”

CNN’s White House correspondent Min Jung Lee reported Friday that the president wrongly stated that all of the classified documents in his home were in locked filing cabinets. While some were in locked cabinets or cabinets that could be locked, others were found in unsealed and damaged cardboard storage boxes inside his garage, accessible to anyone on his property.

Similarly, notebooks were also found in the president’s home office, unlocked.

The president also claimed that none of the documents were marked highly classified. But that, too, was false, as some were marked “top secret.” The report also states that Biden shared documents marked classified with his ghostwriter, despite him claiming Thursday night that such claims were false.