Biden’s Garage of Secrets

(Note: As this article was being prepared, even more documents were found in Biden’s inappropriate possession.)

On August 8, 2022, the FBI executed a search warrant at the Florida residence of former President Donald Trump. At the time, Trump stated “My beautiful home, Mar-A-Lago in Palm Beach, Florida, is currently under siege, raided, and occupied by a large group of FBI agents.” The search was intended to recover documents housed at Trump’s residence that the National Archives claimed did not belong in the former President’s hands.

Apparently, a series of documents labeled “classified” were recovered from Mar-A-Lago pursuant to the search.

Current President Joe Biden wasted no time in criticizing his predecessor. “When it emerged President Trump had so many top secret documents in his possession, Biden asked: ‘…how that could possibly happen? How anyone could be that irresponsible? What data may be in there that may compromise sources and methods?'”

Perhaps Joe Biden never heard the phrase, “People who live in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones.”

On November 2, 2022, “President Biden’s personal attorneys unexpectedly discover(ed) Obama-Biden administration records at the Penn Biden Center in Washington, and notif(ied) the National Archives.” On December 20, 2022, “Biden’s personal attorneys inspect(ed) (the) garage at the president’s Wilmington (Delaware) home and identif(ied) a ‘small number’ of potential classified records.” Then, on January 11, 2023, “Biden’s personal attorneys search(ed) the president’s homes in Wilmington and Rehoboth Beach for additional records. They locate a potential record with classified markings in a room adjacent to the garage.”

The documents recovered from these offices and residences appear to date from Biden’s time as Vice-President.

“People close to the White House say there is currently a mood of quiet resignation among Biden aides – an ‘It is what it is’ mentality – as they, too, wait to learn if news of more misplaced classified documents will surface in the coming days…Democratic Sen. Debbie Stabenow said the discovery of the classified documents was ‘certainly embarrassing’ for Biden. ‘It’s one of those moments that, obviously, they wish hadn’t happened,’ Stabenow said on NBC’s ‘Meet the Press.’”

“It is what it is?” “Certainly embarrassing?” “Wish hadn’t happened?”

Compare these understatements from Biden supporters with the rock thrown through Biden’s glass house by Peter Doocy of Fox News after the second batch of documents were found in Biden’s garage – “Classified materials next to your Corvette? What were you thinking?” All Biden could answer was “that the garage had been locked and that he took the proper handling of classified documents seriously.”

Other than Doocy’s direct question, the rest of the media has been very understanding of Biden’s incompetent handling of classified materials. According to “Scott Amey, general counsel for the Project on Government Oversight, ‘I’d bet you that if they go back to all of the living presidents and root through their homes and their libraries and their warehouses and garages, they’re going to unearth some classified documents there’…Such security lapses are a somewhat regular occurrence, according to one former senior security official involved in protecting classified presidential documents under Trump and his predecessor, Barack Obama…Mark Zaid, a lawyer who specializes in the handling of classified information, said such lapses date back to World War II or earlier, and are far more common than is known publicly.”

Sure, no big deal! Happens all the time!

But if Biden’s mishandling of classified documents is a routine matter, why was it necessary to use dozens of FBI Agents with a search warrant to recover documents from Donald Trump that “all living presidents” have in their homes, libraries and garages?

According to Sky News, there are three main differences between Trump and Biden’s situations; “Firstly, quantity. Fewer than twelve documents were found at the Penn Biden Center and “a handful” were found in Delaware. More than 160 were found at Mar-a-Lago. This excuse might not hold water: one document in the wrong hands could be one too many. Secondly, location. In relation to the first batch of Biden documents discovered, it’s arguable that a private office-space is distinct from a personal home which doubles as a country club (Mar-a-Lago). But then the second batch was found in President Biden’s garage alongside, as it happens, his Corvette! The key difference between the two cases is intent. It’s not unusual when someone at the top of government leaves office to find cases where documents of a secret nature get mixed up with those of a personal nature.”

All three of these alleged differences cannot withstand scrutiny.

Judge John Wilson (ret.) served on the bench in NYC.

THE ARTICLE CONTINUES TOMORROW

Illustration: Pixabay

Quick Analysis

Ukraine’s Frozen Conflict

As we approach winter in the northern hemisphere, the war in Ukraine is beginning to resemble a “frozen conflict” from many perspectives. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky recently told the media he hopes the war will end faster once President-elect Trump takes over in January. Opinions in Moscow, however, differ from that of the Ukrainian leader. Russian President Vladimir Putin argues that the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) needs to exclude Ukraine from joining in “exchange” for peace. If it does not, he says, then no end to the war is in sight. So far there is no Christmas solution. Several NATO countries, according to Vladimir Socor of the Jamestown Foundation, are tentatively considering “coalitions-of-the-willing” to provide security for Ukraine outside of the formal NATO framework. There is, however, no collective mechanism today under which such an arrangement is viable. According to the NATO Charter, while Ukraine is a NATO partner country, it may not join as a full member since it has not fulfilled the requirements for membership. That has not stopped NATO and allies from continuing “to provide Ukraine with unprecedented levels of support, helping to uphold its fundamental right to self-defence,” according to the organization. Socor says that keeping Ukraine out of NATO will not advance peace with Russia. Waiting for a peace settlement, he suggests, would only serve to encourage Moscow to continue the war indefinitely. Although the Biden Administration officially withdrew its support for Ukrainian membership in 2021, NATO maintains an “open door” policy toward membership-seeking countries. The current White House position led the way for European states to oppose Ukraine’s membership saying that a decision should be delayed until “conditions are met.” Biden pushed for changing “open door” to a “bridge” metaphor. It is not intended as an across-the-board NATO policy and has been implemented in the past on a case-by-case basis, says Socor. “The alliance’s open-door policy was not fully insulated from Russia’s non-statutory blocking power, and NATO-aspirant countries’ path toward membership was not always irreversible.” Russia has successfully blocked states like Georgia from joining, first in 2008 and again after the war in Ukraine began in 2014. Russia recognizes the value add of Ukraine to NATO is enormous and that Kyiv has a better case than some other nations. Putin’s invasion was, in part, intended to foreclose that option. By 2021, Moscow was pushing hard to maximize its war objectives, which included further annexations of Ukrainian territory. A main goal for Putin was, and is, to ensure there is no Ukraine left to join NATO. As President-elect Trump prepares to assume office in January, he is faced with the historical challenges presented by the war. Post-conflict security guarantees were the center of several proposals made during the 2023 military stalemate. The incoming Trump Administration has yet to outline how it intends to handle the Russia-Ukraine war. Analysts in Washington believe that the new Administration will expect its European allies to guarantee the majority of Ukraine’s security needs. As we approach 2025, several European nations have acknowledged that they do not view Ukraine as eligible for NATO membership as it would draw the organization into the middle of the conflict. Others want to wait until the war is over or pending a “peace” settlement before considering Ukrainian membership. Socor reports that some “influential voices” are suggesting that “Kyiv should join NATO after “freezing” the war along a stable armistice line, de facto accepting Ukraine’s partition, with NATO security guarantees applying de jure to the government-controlled territory only.” This would mean starting accession talks soon with the actual talks to commence only after a ceasefire is in place. Trump arrives in Washington at a time when Putin’s hybrid strategies of war in Ukraine have eviscerated commonly-held differences between war and peace. “Absent a political consensus in NATO over Ukrainian membership, certain European allies, including France’s President Emmanuel Macron, are holding informal consultations about post-conflict security guarantees to Kyiv by NATO members outside of NATO’s framework,” according to the Jamestown Foundation. The Biden Administration downplayed the discussions on possible forms of military assistance and defense industry cooperation by sending only an Assistant Secretary of State. For a European peace to hold the Trump Administration would need to formally extend the United States’ nuclear deterrence to Ukraine. Options under discussion in Europe include a “coalition of the resolute” to deploy forces to Ukraine as part of a possible armistice package, deterring further Russian attacks, says Secor. European officials are also debating, without any agreement, whether its military forces could perform non-combat logistical roles to free Ukrainian forces to fight. None of the possible courses of action has moved forward as all eyes are waiting on the incoming Trump Administration for clues about its intended level of support for a NATO framework and other non-NATO proposals. Daria Novak served in the U.S. State Dept.