The White House is sticking to the line that President Joe Biden is out of the loop on all matters related to documents seized from former President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago residence.
National Security Council spokesman John Kirby already said Biden is “not involved” in Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines‘s damage assessment concerning materials that were found at Mar-a-Lago. White House press secretary Karine-Jean Pierre echoed that sentiment at Monday’s press briefing.
“The president hasn’t been briefed on any of this,” she told reporters.
BIDEN’S RECORD ON FISCAL RESPONSIBILITY IS ‘SECOND TO NONE,’ WHITE HOUSE SAYS
Ever since the FBI conducted its raid on Mar-a-Lago, the White House has taken pains to present the investigation as independent from political pressure.
Biden’s team is also eager to avoid any appearance of trying to harm a political opponent ahead of a possible 2024 rematch.
Trump was impeached for his efforts to extract information about Hunter Biden’s business dealings from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, though the former president was acquitted by the Senate. Trump was also criticized for his “Lock her up!” chants at 2016 campaign rallies over the federal investigation of Hillary Clinton’s State Department emails.
Clinton was being investigated for her handling of classified emails while using a private email server as secretary of state under former President Barack Obama.
Trump is now facing a similar investigation for his handling of classified materials at his Florida home since leaving office.
“We have not been involved in this matter,” Jean-Pierre said. She tried to avoid answering questions about any future developments in the investigation, any general views about declassification, or comments about the political impact.
Biden himself has been less careful. “I just want you to know I’ve declassified everything in the world. I’m president, I can do — c’mon,” he told reporters Friday on the White House South Lawn.
This was a facetious response to Trump’s defense that he declassified any relevant materials before leaving office.
Some liberal activists would like to hear Biden weigh in on possible charges for Trump under the Espionage Act.
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Trump has also used the investigation to rally Republicans behind him ahead of a possible third presidential bid.
“We were essentially attacked,” he said. “We were broken into. They opened up safes, they brought safecrackers in. They brought many, many FBI agents in — all right before the midterms and all when I have the best poll numbers I’ve ever had.”
