What's Good for the Goose...

Back in the ‘50s and ‘60s, there was a children’s TV show called Garfield Goose (King of the United States), pictured here with host Frazier Thomas and Romberg Rabbit. We were reminded of that program, when news surfaced this past week that President Biden had been in possession of classified papers in four different locations (so far) for a period of six years. When former President Trump was justifiably criticized by many for storing classified documents at his home at Mar-a-Lago, President Biden’s reaction was extremely harsh, asking: "how could that possibly happen, how could anyone be that irresponsible…What data was in there that may compromise sources and methods? It’s just totally irresponsible.” Now, that the same question must be asked of him, for after all, “what’s good for the goose, is good for the gander!”

Using President Biden’s own standard, his hosting of classified documents in unsecured locations is certainly irresponsible. He was a Senator for forty years before serving as Vice-President for eight years, so he should certainly know that strict guidelines are required for handling classified information. Briefings that include classified information are held in Sensitive Compartmented Information Facilities (SCIF), rooms with elaborate protections to minimize eavesdropping. Telephone conversations of classified information are conducted via secure phones. Emails that might contain classified information are sent only through secure networks, not through personal servers.

It should be obvious to all that President Biden’s storing of classified information was sloppy at best. The documents were boxed up at his vice-presidential office by lower-level staffers (without security clearance), and were held someplace for a year before some of them landed at his office at the Penn-Biden Center, and some next to his Corvette in his garage at his Wilmington home, and again some actually in his home. Questions remain over how many people had access to the classified documents at all those unsecure locations, and why Biden’s personal attorneys, who don’t have security clearance, conducted the search for additional classified documents, instead of the FBI.

We think the President’s somewhat cavalier attitude toward the growing scandal is perfectly encapsulated by his answer to a reporter’s question at a press conference: “Mr. President, classified material next to your Corvette – what were you thinking?” His response: “By the way, my Corvette’s in a locked garage, OK? So it’s not like they’re sitting out in the street.” We have put a picture of the President backing into his garage, so our readers can see where the documents may have been stashed in the garage, and then can decide for themselves whether they think it is “OK.”

However, the key question is whether President Biden’s conduct was criminal. The answer is a Definite Maybe. In similar Trump filings concerning classified documents at Mar- a-Lago, the Justice Department did state that mishandling of classified material can be a criminal act. For conviction, federal law requires prosecutors to establish that the defendant was grossly negligent. There is no need to prove that an accused was trying to harm the United States; just that he was trusted with classified information and carelessly flouted the standards for safeguarding it. Professor Jonathan Turley puts it this way: “Since Federal Law bars gross mishandling of classified material, it is not enough to say you lacked evil intent…Inadvertent mishandling is not a viable criminal defense. It is designed to suggest that while it may violate Federal Law, the conduct is excusable.” In any event, Attorney General Garland has appointed a special counsel to investigate this matter.

Of course, both Democrats and Republicans and their supporters are “pouncing” on this story. Both President Biden and former President Trump are comparing their actions with each other; and they are defending themselves (with both good and bad arguments on each side), while denying culpability.

We think a far better comparison should be with Hillary Clinton, the former presidential candidate who claims she was robbed of the presidency, and that Donald Trump was an illegitimate President. If you want to see someone who was completely and egregiously irresponsible with classified documents, you need to look no further than her. As Secretary of State, Mrs. Clinton exclusively used a private email account and her own internet service provider, instead of an official account. According to Charles McCullough, the Inspector General of the Intelligence Community, the server she used contained several dozen emails that were deemed to be Confidential, Secret and Top Secret/SAP levels.

It should also be noted that those are just the emails that were found. It’s a fact that, after she received a Congressional subpoena, she wiped her computer clean of what she claimed were “personal emails,” so no one really knows how many more classified documents she had retained. It is also a fact that the Secretary’s aide destroyed some of her used mobile devices with hammers. Finally, it would be funny, if it weren’t so serious, that FBI found 2,800 government documents on the laptop of former US Representative Anthony Weiner, who at the time was the husband of Huma Abedin, Hillary Clinton’s deputy chief of staff during her tenure as Secretary of State. Five of them were classified and concerned delicate talks with Middle East leaders. Subsequently, Mr. Weiner was sentenced to 21 months in prison after pleading guilty to sending sexually explicit texts to a 15 year old girl.

What do the President, the former President and the former presidential candidate have in common? Certainly, they were all absolutely irresponsible in the handling of classified information. Furthermore, in the face of obvious culpability, they all deny that they did anything wrong. They all remind me of Joey Bishop and Imogene Coca in that scene from the movie, The Guide to a Married Man. (Check it out on You Tube).

What they do not have in common is that Ms. Clinton was never charged for any of her obvious violations of Federal law, while the President and the former President both face potential criminal liability. This has resulted in charges of rank hypocrisy, and more importantly, charges of unequal treatment of the law by the Department of Justice. It has inflamed the already bitter political divide in this country.

In our opinion, there is more than a little truth in these charges. While we don’t want to play down the seriousness of keeping confidential information safeguarded, here’s a novel idea: drop all the charges and let the people decide. President Biden and former President Trump have already declared their intention to run again, and there are certainly many politicians on both sides – including Hillary herself – who would love to jump in the race should any of the last two Presidents falter. Let the people of the United States decide how serious they want to treat these violations of Federal Law, and let them decide who they want to be the next President. (Our vote is for none of them).