This isn’t just a matter of law. It is also political kryptonite. And, it is an opportunity for the Biden administration and the department of justice to model how to properly and openly conduct investigations into matters that are politically loaded, but where the law must also be followed. Among other things, political leaders understand that there cannot be an appearance of corruption. And if something can be construed to be corrupt, it must be thoroughly investigated. It also presents an opportunity to improve the procedure for the handling of documents by officials in high office and for their secure transfer once their term ends. In short, this is a teaching moment for the Biden administration, and an opportunity to apply the same standards to investigating and probably prosecuting Trump.
In today's toxic political environment, Democrats must show that they can effectively counter Trumpublicans' exploitation of this situation to undermine the administration's agenda and attack President Biden's leadership.
And, of course, I wish you a good outcome with your medical screening.
I agree that classified documents need to be accounted for once a presidential term ends and I might add before they leave the White House of that term. That everything is turned in and accounted for, certainly not after the fact. Someone at NARA needs to be carefully monitoring this situation on a daily basis even.
On NARA documents, classified or not, there is the criminal Trump way, involving the unlawful, knowing, RETENTION or hiding of documents after discovery or notice and/or serving misdirecting decalations over a period of a year as opposed to the Biden Team's immediate notice to NARA and prompt recovery with follow up. Trump before Biden now. New Special Counsel is a capable career DOJ guy. Well respected. TUESDAY UPDATE: as to the Pence classified documents recovered by the FBI today, just one (1) Special Counsel can handle Biden, Pence and ... who's nexy ... Mike Pompeo? Only one (1) Special Counsel can handle Trump and related coconspirators involved in RETENTION and intentional delay. Trump has a big problem explaining documents withheld in his desk drawers as other personal documents AFTER he reached his hideout in MaL, Florida.
People keep talking about opportunities democrats have to show the difference and why. But I wonder who they're really seeking votes from. Truth doesn't make it often enough to murdoch/sinclair enterprises so many people are still left in the dark. If that changed, I'd be more inclined to agree with you. But yes, truth has to find its way out there but how ...
Roe worked because millions of lives were being affected. But stuff like this when it doesn't make it to conspiracy media stating clear facts, So, I'm doubtful. (My spouse got frustrated with the lack of accurate info about covid. She turned to fox during the day and found it there. I was stunned and believed her. So, it's not all lies just 99% of it.)
They got these things, called cell phones, computers & other thingies. On Covid 19, you can easily click on Jonn Hopkins Covid Resource Center. Spouses do not even have to read! You can watch moving pictures & even watch hot spots pulse & glow. Cool. Trust me you do NOT even have to understand the spread of the 4th or 5th generation of Omicron subvariant or its rapid spread throughout the US. XBB.1.5. What? Spoiler Alert: The Pandemic is not over &`who really cares about grandma or grandpa anyway?
Just because massive amounts of data are available, it doesn't = massive amount of people digesting it - not even the pictures because they belong in a cult. So no amount of pics or videos of people infected with it or dying from it will help many of those people who do know what cellphones, computers, pictures, and Breibart are.
That's what I'm seeing when I step out of our pretty isolated world.
Sheri, I get where you are coming from as "digesting" any data or images is problematic to make an understatemt. But, see any of the "VIT" work (visual inestigstion Team) published at the NYT.
Note also the voluntary, independent visual investigation work by single citizens assisting the DOJ in making positive ID's of J6 Perps. Note the last two (2) convictions fron OHIO in December 2020 are updated via " GRANICUS " on January 17, 2023.
More seriously, given the evidence of actual harm to young people at school, is the current Federal lawsuit filed by two (2) school Districts in the state of Washingon, Seattle & Kent.
The Districts are represented by sophisticated ( law & motion ) outside Counsel. I have responded to Counsel's authetication tools and asked for data
(that word again) to be included on the pleading-stage battles.
Much to my personal respect for outside Counsel is that the School Districts are using the WA statutes for PUBLIC NUISANCE for tortious conduct that is a substantial factor in damages to students & School Districts. I count at least 11 separate Defendants (not just the "Big 5" mentioned in media blather). In Federal court you MUST identify Defendants accurately including the Corps & "LLC`s". Outside Counsel has a done a superb job, litigators work, on these procedurally important matters.
I will be posting on the case when relevant & on point. 🙏
This kind of messaging is done by candidates and office holders, news outlets that are conducting disciplined and vetted journalism, etc. The audiences you would address are citizens at town halls, people watching news shows or reading opinion pieces who may be alarmed and skeptical, and so on. I'm not saying we'll convince MAGA true believers.
I had some such discussions when knocking on doors to support candidates. Some of the Republicans and conservatives I encountered were unhappy with the radicalization of their party and were curious about the positions of our candidates -- and more than a few said they would vote for our candidate or withhold their votes from the MAGA candidate. Our national candidate was also effective -- and won -- because she spoke to practical concerns like childcare and health insurance and dismissed the culture wars as a distraction from meeting real needs.
I'd be interested to know what truths Fox told about Covid compared to other media outlets, like The Atlantic and its COVID Tracking Project or the FaceBook group, Vaccine Talk.
Thank you Joyce for an excellent clarification of the classified documents situations. I also want to thank you for talking about your colonoscopy and the importance of screening. Colon cancer is very preventable when recommended screening is done. I have to have a colonoscopy every year due to an increased risk of colon cancer due to a genetic predisposition. It’s not a big deal and worth doing to prevent colon cancer. So if anyone is putting it off....please don’t and get it done.
Regarding a colonoscopy, I urge everyone to get one as recommended by your doctor (usually with a baseline at age 45). It can save your life. At age 55, my OBGYN did a test & urged me to get one. My GASTRO doctor found a cancerous polyp & i ended up having a section of my colon removed. Fortunately the cancer had not gone through the wall of the colon. That was 22 years ago. I’ve had regular testing since then with no reoccurrence.
The prep for the procedure is no fun, but the procedure itself is easy enough. It saved my life, & could save yours.
I had a colonoscopy years ago as part of the diagnosis of why I was suddenly anemic. It uncovered precancerous polyps. These are slow acting--take about 10 years to develop into cancer. So now I have the procedure every 3 years, polyps recur and are removed, and I'm heading towards 80 with that risk factor under control.
The prep is awful: be ready to spend the evening near the can. Very near. The procedure consists of a) someone saying "I'm going to increase the gas now" and then b) immediately saying "would you like some apple juice now." It's an hour later, but who knew.
Do not ignore the colon! I had a resection in August of 2000 and another one March ‘22. The difference I feel is definitely noteworthy! So much better. My prep was not fun, but not horrible.
It’s so interesting. Knowing how long Biden has been of service to his country, how aware and respectful he is of its rules and the due respect, it is somehow somewhat strange to see these twin discoveries of documents. Could these have been planted ? Considering the intrinsic qualities of the person and the timeline of the discoveries, this might be a fair question .
As a layperson I too do not understand how these supposedly very important documents are not better tracked. I know with technology it is easy to share, print, and manipulate files but surely they could develop a better system for keeping track of who has what so that everything is returned or they at least know what is missing?
Right. They need to keep on it daily so followup can be immediate to get documents returned right away. I wonder at any given moment how many classified documents could be missing.
Second, I hope I don't come across as PollyAnnish, but given that the records were present at the Penn Biden Center, I am glad that they were discovered now, before Jack Smith has made his decision re: what to charge Trump. This allows him to flesh any charges arising from the Trump held documents knowing there will be "what-about-ism." In other words this won't be an unpleasant surprise later in the process.
Third, I am sure there have been many times over the past 2 years when Merrick Garland had to say to himself, "why did I give up my post on the Court of Appeal for what has to be the most difficult job in Washington, D.C.?' I imagine when he got news of these documents, that thought had to run through his mind - if only briefly.
First of all, good luck on your colonoscopy. They are important to have. Secondly, I was listening to a former ethics attorney for the White House under Bush discussing the case of the Biden papers on NPR this morning and saying that it was careless because someone should have checked the papers out and in when they are moved, and even if it was the people working for him the buck stops with him. I cannot picture the situation. We do not know the government protocols for releasing documents that are classified or other. Can a secretary have such clearance, or is it only politicians? My husband has had to have certain clearances for working with supercomputers as a physicist and working in a national lab. I imagine that might be true of maintenance people as well. When I took my class to the White House many years ago because we traveled with a celebrity that had adopted us we all needed clearance, that is my students, the people I chose as chaperones, the celebrity and his pr people, the people they chose to bring along and me. We were cleared to meet the president, although we did not. We ended up meeting with his wife who later ran for president herself. However, that is not the same as informational clearance. I would like to have a picture of this situation. My concern is that it just looks careless on the part of Biden, as does the surprise. Now more papers have been found elsewhere. That is not how things look with Trump. In fact the attorney being interviewed on NPR said that he is surprised that the DOJ only looked at Mar-a-Lago given the situation with Trump. I hope that we just did not know that they have looked elsewhere because he did not choose to share that with everyone. What the news today has revealed to me is that in my democratic dominated state of Illinois a lot of business is getting done like gun control and abortion protections. In Washington, where bills start in the House, they are going to mainly spend their time investigating instead of governing. Somehow I do not think that is the job of the Congress. That is the job of the Department of Justice. They are supposed to legislate. I am getting ready to go join the Women's March on January 22, the 50th anniversary of Roe v Wade. It is super important to get out there and let these Republicans in Congress know that just like in Iran and China, we are not just taking what they are doing lying down.
Speaking from experience, "colonoscopy" sounds worse than it turns out to be (they knock you out) but the preparations are sure to convince you I am wrong. Here's hoping you get a nice "clean" report.
Thanks for the explanations tonight, but I fear since we are dealing with an enemy who lives on bad faith that a reasonable rational discussion of the events and their parallels will be impossible. Particularly when that enemy is looking for anything to distract from his trip to the hoosegow.
Great missive tonight and good on ya for the colonoscopy. It’s a life saving, relatively easy procedure and worth the night of discomfort before. Enjoy the propofol trip!
Hi Joyce. Things seem to be really heating up since the midterms and the mess in the House. But Biden is methodical and works so very hard at improving all our lives, this situation will take care of itself. And it had been blown out if control. I just wish the Republicans who have any sense left will find a way to push out the election deniers once and for all. They do not belong in our Congress. Biden is a once in a lifetime president and deserves all our respect and support. Bonne chance on your procedure. We are all with you on this. Thanks for the in-depth report to help us become more knowing of what the “big boys and girls” are up to. One more step for mankind 🇺🇸
Thank you for the explanation. While I believe President Biden is innocent, finding these documents is very disturbing on so many levels. One of my greatest concerns from the beginning of the Biden Presidency (which I have written about a number of times on another site) was the failure of this administration to "clean house."
Given my concern that AG Garland was doing nothing about the alleged internal Insurrectionists, I wondered how many department heads, particularly in the 19 Intelligence Departments (I only read that this is the number; I don't know firsthand)--had cleaned house. From what I could learn, Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin was the only person to do so. (There could be more, but he's the only one I found.) Secretary Austin asked for everyone's resignation--at least among those who were advisors--vetted them all, and rebuilt his department. I don't know what he did about the civil servants. Cleaning house was also a way of getting rid of the last minute Trump appointees, of which there were many, and they all were political appointees who were highly suspect.
Given the level of dishonesty, criminality, and alleged sedition in the Trump White House, and the number of people who were forced to resign, (like Ryan Zinke, who never was investigated by AG Garland and has just been seated as a congressman from Montana), the Biden Administration's lack of attention to internal security issues was/is an anathema.
And, of course, the worst offender, who seemingly did no investigations and/or did them, but let everyone off, was former AG William Barr. I still don't understand why he hasn't been investigated.
I don't have any firsthand knowledge of the White House, and what is usually done. But, during the Trump administration, there were so many people who were fired for cause, others who enriched themselves and left, and others who had violated any number of protocols. I would have thought that getting rid of those still in office, and investigating the rest, should have been a top priority. Joyce, I know you're having the colonoscopy procedure, but I wish that as some point you'll explain why nothing has been done.
It often seems like no one is in charge. And, now that this has happened, and if it is an inside job, whatever President Biden does to tighten security will be considered highly suspect.
Who planted classified documents in offices of Biden? Hum... looks like a way to take the spot light off of Trump. I hope there are cameras to show who was in and out of that office.
When they found the second set I became more convinced that the documents were planted. I was never a conspiracy theorist, but these days I know anything can happen. Look at all the wasted energy there will be over this instead of in the trumpers where it belongs .... and pray that this doesn’t slow the justice department even further. It’s just the mess the Rs would pray for.
Biden is president and can get his hands on the most highly classified information inside the federal archives and elsewhere. He has no reason to stash old papers in a closet for years. Trump stole documents, refused to give them back. This is a non-story.
Excellent point, Marycat2021! Now if only Garland and the media would publicly acknowledge what they already must know is true - that the two cases have very little in common beyond the mere fact of the possession of classified documents.
I can be your “colonoscopy buddy”. I’m scheduled for one tomorrow as well and am doing the prep today. As Jean in Florida mentioned above, it’s important we talk about these things and help others be aware of how important they are. I’m 60 years old, 15 years ago I had my first one. And it so happens a pre-cancerous polyp was found and removed. Thankfully, it was self contained so removing it was the only treatment needed. That and I had to have annual colonoscopies for 3 yrs to ensure all was well, and it was. In the words of my doctor when he was briefing me on the lab results of the polyp, “That was a bad one. It surely would have killed you, if we hadn’t found it and gotten rid of it. You’re a lucky woman.” Nope. Not luck. It was getting the procedure done rather than skipping it. Everyone needs to be aware of these procedures and have them available to them. I’m pretty sure the only reason I’m here writing this response today is I had access to great medical care and listened to my doctor when he said, “We should schedule you for your first colonoscopy.”
This isn’t just a matter of law. It is also political kryptonite. And, it is an opportunity for the Biden administration and the department of justice to model how to properly and openly conduct investigations into matters that are politically loaded, but where the law must also be followed. Among other things, political leaders understand that there cannot be an appearance of corruption. And if something can be construed to be corrupt, it must be thoroughly investigated. It also presents an opportunity to improve the procedure for the handling of documents by officials in high office and for their secure transfer once their term ends. In short, this is a teaching moment for the Biden administration, and an opportunity to apply the same standards to investigating and probably prosecuting Trump.
In today's toxic political environment, Democrats must show that they can effectively counter Trumpublicans' exploitation of this situation to undermine the administration's agenda and attack President Biden's leadership.
And, of course, I wish you a good outcome with your medical screening.
I agree that classified documents need to be accounted for once a presidential term ends and I might add before they leave the White House of that term. That everything is turned in and accounted for, certainly not after the fact. Someone at NARA needs to be carefully monitoring this situation on a daily basis even.
Concur.
On NARA documents, classified or not, there is the criminal Trump way, involving the unlawful, knowing, RETENTION or hiding of documents after discovery or notice and/or serving misdirecting decalations over a period of a year as opposed to the Biden Team's immediate notice to NARA and prompt recovery with follow up. Trump before Biden now. New Special Counsel is a capable career DOJ guy. Well respected. TUESDAY UPDATE: as to the Pence classified documents recovered by the FBI today, just one (1) Special Counsel can handle Biden, Pence and ... who's nexy ... Mike Pompeo? Only one (1) Special Counsel can handle Trump and related coconspirators involved in RETENTION and intentional delay. Trump has a big problem explaining documents withheld in his desk drawers as other personal documents AFTER he reached his hideout in MaL, Florida.
It will make for a fine documentary for due process.
People keep talking about opportunities democrats have to show the difference and why. But I wonder who they're really seeking votes from. Truth doesn't make it often enough to murdoch/sinclair enterprises so many people are still left in the dark. If that changed, I'd be more inclined to agree with you. But yes, truth has to find its way out there but how ...
Roe worked because millions of lives were being affected. But stuff like this when it doesn't make it to conspiracy media stating clear facts, So, I'm doubtful. (My spouse got frustrated with the lack of accurate info about covid. She turned to fox during the day and found it there. I was stunned and believed her. So, it's not all lies just 99% of it.)
They got these things, called cell phones, computers & other thingies. On Covid 19, you can easily click on Jonn Hopkins Covid Resource Center. Spouses do not even have to read! You can watch moving pictures & even watch hot spots pulse & glow. Cool. Trust me you do NOT even have to understand the spread of the 4th or 5th generation of Omicron subvariant or its rapid spread throughout the US. XBB.1.5. What? Spoiler Alert: The Pandemic is not over &`who really cares about grandma or grandpa anyway?
Just because massive amounts of data are available, it doesn't = massive amount of people digesting it - not even the pictures because they belong in a cult. So no amount of pics or videos of people infected with it or dying from it will help many of those people who do know what cellphones, computers, pictures, and Breibart are.
That's what I'm seeing when I step out of our pretty isolated world.
Sheri, I get where you are coming from as "digesting" any data or images is problematic to make an understatemt. But, see any of the "VIT" work (visual inestigstion Team) published at the NYT.
Note also the voluntary, independent visual investigation work by single citizens assisting the DOJ in making positive ID's of J6 Perps. Note the last two (2) convictions fron OHIO in December 2020 are updated via " GRANICUS " on January 17, 2023.
More seriously, given the evidence of actual harm to young people at school, is the current Federal lawsuit filed by two (2) school Districts in the state of Washingon, Seattle & Kent.
The Districts are represented by sophisticated ( law & motion ) outside Counsel. I have responded to Counsel's authetication tools and asked for data
(that word again) to be included on the pleading-stage battles.
Much to my personal respect for outside Counsel is that the School Districts are using the WA statutes for PUBLIC NUISANCE for tortious conduct that is a substantial factor in damages to students & School Districts. I count at least 11 separate Defendants (not just the "Big 5" mentioned in media blather). In Federal court you MUST identify Defendants accurately including the Corps & "LLC`s". Outside Counsel has a done a superb job, litigators work, on these procedurally important matters.
I will be posting on the case when relevant & on point. 🙏
This kind of messaging is done by candidates and office holders, news outlets that are conducting disciplined and vetted journalism, etc. The audiences you would address are citizens at town halls, people watching news shows or reading opinion pieces who may be alarmed and skeptical, and so on. I'm not saying we'll convince MAGA true believers.
I had some such discussions when knocking on doors to support candidates. Some of the Republicans and conservatives I encountered were unhappy with the radicalization of their party and were curious about the positions of our candidates -- and more than a few said they would vote for our candidate or withhold their votes from the MAGA candidate. Our national candidate was also effective -- and won -- because she spoke to practical concerns like childcare and health insurance and dismissed the culture wars as a distraction from meeting real needs.
I'd be interested to know what truths Fox told about Covid compared to other media outlets, like The Atlantic and its COVID Tracking Project or the FaceBook group, Vaccine Talk.
Or Johns Hopkins, which issues updates via email. I find it hard to believe that the only place one can find covid info is Fox!
JOHN HOPKINS COVID RESOURCE CENTER with tools to obtain local & granular data & comparisons to other cohorts.🕯
What will it take to trim Murdoch's feathers and cage him?
I gave your comment one star but it deserves all of them :) . I like that thought a lot.
My, my, my, I'm surprised the archives are so loosely monitored, I heard they found some classified docs with Pence now!
Thank you Joyce for an excellent clarification of the classified documents situations. I also want to thank you for talking about your colonoscopy and the importance of screening. Colon cancer is very preventable when recommended screening is done. I have to have a colonoscopy every year due to an increased risk of colon cancer due to a genetic predisposition. It’s not a big deal and worth doing to prevent colon cancer. So if anyone is putting it off....please don’t and get it done.
Regarding a colonoscopy, I urge everyone to get one as recommended by your doctor (usually with a baseline at age 45). It can save your life. At age 55, my OBGYN did a test & urged me to get one. My GASTRO doctor found a cancerous polyp & i ended up having a section of my colon removed. Fortunately the cancer had not gone through the wall of the colon. That was 22 years ago. I’ve had regular testing since then with no reoccurrence.
The prep for the procedure is no fun, but the procedure itself is easy enough. It saved my life, & could save yours.
I had a colonoscopy years ago as part of the diagnosis of why I was suddenly anemic. It uncovered precancerous polyps. These are slow acting--take about 10 years to develop into cancer. So now I have the procedure every 3 years, polyps recur and are removed, and I'm heading towards 80 with that risk factor under control.
The prep is awful: be ready to spend the evening near the can. Very near. The procedure consists of a) someone saying "I'm going to increase the gas now" and then b) immediately saying "would you like some apple juice now." It's an hour later, but who knew.
Do not ignore the colon! I had a resection in August of 2000 and another one March ‘22. The difference I feel is definitely noteworthy! So much better. My prep was not fun, but not horrible.
You can do it!
Come on everyone!
Jump on the colonoscopy train!
Always prevention and that starts with a proactive family doctor. Never be the one who hears a physician say wish you had come in six months ago.
Wise advice. Thank you.
Thank you so much Joyce.
It’s so interesting. Knowing how long Biden has been of service to his country, how aware and respectful he is of its rules and the due respect, it is somehow somewhat strange to see these twin discoveries of documents. Could these have been planted ? Considering the intrinsic qualities of the person and the timeline of the discoveries, this might be a fair question .
I have to admit I’ve had the same thought.
Something about this feels off. Isn't it just so darned convenient.
I too have wondered if perhaps they were planted. But then i thought it would be easy to tell.
Isn't there a checkout system, like a library, so the National Archives knows where documents are, who checked them out, when they should be returned?
As a layperson I too do not understand how these supposedly very important documents are not better tracked. I know with technology it is easy to share, print, and manipulate files but surely they could develop a better system for keeping track of who has what so that everything is returned or they at least know what is missing?
Right. They need to keep on it daily so followup can be immediate to get documents returned right away. I wonder at any given moment how many classified documents could be missing.
First, good luck on your procedure tomorrow.
Second, I hope I don't come across as PollyAnnish, but given that the records were present at the Penn Biden Center, I am glad that they were discovered now, before Jack Smith has made his decision re: what to charge Trump. This allows him to flesh any charges arising from the Trump held documents knowing there will be "what-about-ism." In other words this won't be an unpleasant surprise later in the process.
Third, I am sure there have been many times over the past 2 years when Merrick Garland had to say to himself, "why did I give up my post on the Court of Appeal for what has to be the most difficult job in Washington, D.C.?' I imagine when he got news of these documents, that thought had to run through his mind - if only briefly.
First of all, good luck on your colonoscopy. They are important to have. Secondly, I was listening to a former ethics attorney for the White House under Bush discussing the case of the Biden papers on NPR this morning and saying that it was careless because someone should have checked the papers out and in when they are moved, and even if it was the people working for him the buck stops with him. I cannot picture the situation. We do not know the government protocols for releasing documents that are classified or other. Can a secretary have such clearance, or is it only politicians? My husband has had to have certain clearances for working with supercomputers as a physicist and working in a national lab. I imagine that might be true of maintenance people as well. When I took my class to the White House many years ago because we traveled with a celebrity that had adopted us we all needed clearance, that is my students, the people I chose as chaperones, the celebrity and his pr people, the people they chose to bring along and me. We were cleared to meet the president, although we did not. We ended up meeting with his wife who later ran for president herself. However, that is not the same as informational clearance. I would like to have a picture of this situation. My concern is that it just looks careless on the part of Biden, as does the surprise. Now more papers have been found elsewhere. That is not how things look with Trump. In fact the attorney being interviewed on NPR said that he is surprised that the DOJ only looked at Mar-a-Lago given the situation with Trump. I hope that we just did not know that they have looked elsewhere because he did not choose to share that with everyone. What the news today has revealed to me is that in my democratic dominated state of Illinois a lot of business is getting done like gun control and abortion protections. In Washington, where bills start in the House, they are going to mainly spend their time investigating instead of governing. Somehow I do not think that is the job of the Congress. That is the job of the Department of Justice. They are supposed to legislate. I am getting ready to go join the Women's March on January 22, the 50th anniversary of Roe v Wade. It is super important to get out there and let these Republicans in Congress know that just like in Iran and China, we are not just taking what they are doing lying down.
Speaking from experience, "colonoscopy" sounds worse than it turns out to be (they knock you out) but the preparations are sure to convince you I am wrong. Here's hoping you get a nice "clean" report.
Thanks for the explanations tonight, but I fear since we are dealing with an enemy who lives on bad faith that a reasonable rational discussion of the events and their parallels will be impossible. Particularly when that enemy is looking for anything to distract from his trip to the hoosegow.
Right on Right on! And very best of luck to you!!!
I’m glad you are taking care of yourself. I also like that you told us about why and regarding how you made your decision so very clearly. Thank you.
Great missive tonight and good on ya for the colonoscopy. It’s a life saving, relatively easy procedure and worth the night of discomfort before. Enjoy the propofol trip!
Very easy with modern protocols. Repeat: Life saving your Life.
Hi Joyce. Things seem to be really heating up since the midterms and the mess in the House. But Biden is methodical and works so very hard at improving all our lives, this situation will take care of itself. And it had been blown out if control. I just wish the Republicans who have any sense left will find a way to push out the election deniers once and for all. They do not belong in our Congress. Biden is a once in a lifetime president and deserves all our respect and support. Bonne chance on your procedure. We are all with you on this. Thanks for the in-depth report to help us become more knowing of what the “big boys and girls” are up to. One more step for mankind 🇺🇸
Thank you for the explanation. While I believe President Biden is innocent, finding these documents is very disturbing on so many levels. One of my greatest concerns from the beginning of the Biden Presidency (which I have written about a number of times on another site) was the failure of this administration to "clean house."
Given my concern that AG Garland was doing nothing about the alleged internal Insurrectionists, I wondered how many department heads, particularly in the 19 Intelligence Departments (I only read that this is the number; I don't know firsthand)--had cleaned house. From what I could learn, Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin was the only person to do so. (There could be more, but he's the only one I found.) Secretary Austin asked for everyone's resignation--at least among those who were advisors--vetted them all, and rebuilt his department. I don't know what he did about the civil servants. Cleaning house was also a way of getting rid of the last minute Trump appointees, of which there were many, and they all were political appointees who were highly suspect.
Given the level of dishonesty, criminality, and alleged sedition in the Trump White House, and the number of people who were forced to resign, (like Ryan Zinke, who never was investigated by AG Garland and has just been seated as a congressman from Montana), the Biden Administration's lack of attention to internal security issues was/is an anathema.
And, of course, the worst offender, who seemingly did no investigations and/or did them, but let everyone off, was former AG William Barr. I still don't understand why he hasn't been investigated.
I don't have any firsthand knowledge of the White House, and what is usually done. But, during the Trump administration, there were so many people who were fired for cause, others who enriched themselves and left, and others who had violated any number of protocols. I would have thought that getting rid of those still in office, and investigating the rest, should have been a top priority. Joyce, I know you're having the colonoscopy procedure, but I wish that as some point you'll explain why nothing has been done.
It often seems like no one is in charge. And, now that this has happened, and if it is an inside job, whatever President Biden does to tighten security will be considered highly suspect.
Who planted classified documents in offices of Biden? Hum... looks like a way to take the spot light off of Trump. I hope there are cameras to show who was in and out of that office.
When they found the second set I became more convinced that the documents were planted. I was never a conspiracy theorist, but these days I know anything can happen. Look at all the wasted energy there will be over this instead of in the trumpers where it belongs .... and pray that this doesn’t slow the justice department even further. It’s just the mess the Rs would pray for.
Biden is president and can get his hands on the most highly classified information inside the federal archives and elsewhere. He has no reason to stash old papers in a closet for years. Trump stole documents, refused to give them back. This is a non-story.
Excellent point, Marycat2021! Now if only Garland and the media would publicly acknowledge what they already must know is true - that the two cases have very little in common beyond the mere fact of the possession of classified documents.
I can be your “colonoscopy buddy”. I’m scheduled for one tomorrow as well and am doing the prep today. As Jean in Florida mentioned above, it’s important we talk about these things and help others be aware of how important they are. I’m 60 years old, 15 years ago I had my first one. And it so happens a pre-cancerous polyp was found and removed. Thankfully, it was self contained so removing it was the only treatment needed. That and I had to have annual colonoscopies for 3 yrs to ensure all was well, and it was. In the words of my doctor when he was briefing me on the lab results of the polyp, “That was a bad one. It surely would have killed you, if we hadn’t found it and gotten rid of it. You’re a lucky woman.” Nope. Not luck. It was getting the procedure done rather than skipping it. Everyone needs to be aware of these procedures and have them available to them. I’m pretty sure the only reason I’m here writing this response today is I had access to great medical care and listened to my doctor when he said, “We should schedule you for your first colonoscopy.”