The National Archives has stayed largely quiet when it comes to President Joe Biden‘s classified document saga — a stark contrast to how it handled former President Donald Trump‘s scandal.
In the wake of the Trump raid, the National Archives set up an entire section on their website, “Press Statements in Response to Media Queries About Presidential Records,” in early 2022 dedicated to their numerous press releases on the Trump Mar-a-Lago documents saga. However, in the days after Biden’s scandal burst into view, the group has yet to issue a single press release.
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The National Archives noted in January 2022 that “some of the Trump presidential records” included “paper records that had been torn up by former President Trump” while adding in February 2022 that the National Archives had “arranged for the transport from the Trump Mar-a-Lago property in Florida to the National Archives of 15 boxes that contained Presidential records” the previous month.
That press release included two quotes from then-Archivist David Ferriero stressing the importance of the Presidential Records Act, with Ferriero calling the law “critical to our democracy.” Ferriero also declared that when it comes to “the timely transfer of them to the National Archives at the end of an Administration, there should be no question as to need for both diligence and vigilance. Records matter.”
No such press release pronouncement has been made about the Biden saga.
Behind the scenes, Biden’s personal attorneys allegedly first discovered classified documents in Biden’s possession on Nov. 2 at the Penn Biden Center. Biden’s lawyers contacted the White House Counsel’s Office, and the White House contacted the National Archives. The National Archives informed its own inspector general on Nov. 3, and the watchdog contacted the Department of Justice on Nov. 4.
Biden’s lawyers have since found more classified documents at Biden’s Wilmington, Delaware, home in December and in January, and the DOJ found even more when it conducted its own search Friday.
Trump, for his part, returned an initial batch of 15 boxes from Mar-a-Lago to the National Archives in January 2022. The agency said it had found some records with classified markings and believed Trump continued to possess other records, and in February 2022, it referred the issue to the DOJ.
Acting Archivist Debra Wall sent a May 2022 letter to Trump’s lawyers informing them an initial review “identified items marked as classified national security information.”
The archivist said this resulted in Biden and the White House being made aware of the situation as the FBI sought access to the records.
The letter was followed the next day by a grand jury subpoena, then a June 2022 visit to Mar-a-Lago by federal investigators, and finally, by the August 2022 raid of Mar-a-Lago.
In justifying the raid, the Justice Department argued in late August 2022 that it had “developed evidence that government records were likely concealed and removed from the Storage Room [at Mar-a-Lago] and that efforts were likely taken to obstruct the government’s investigation.”
The Republican-led Committee on Oversight and Accountability told the National Archives in early January 2023 that it was investigating whether there was “political bias” at the agency.
“For months, NARA failed to disclose to Committee Republicans or the American public that President Biden — after serving as Vice President — stored highly classified documents in a closet at his personal office. NARA learned about these documents days before the 2022 midterm elections and did not alert the public that President Biden was potentially violating the law,” Rep. James Comer (R-KY) told the archivist.
Comer added, “NARA’s inconsistent treatment of recovering classified records held by former President Trump and President Biden raises questions about political bias at the agency.”
Wall defended her agency’s actions in a letter to Comer last week.
“DOJ has advised it will need to consult with the newly appointed Office of Special Counsel in DOJ, to assess whether information can be released without interfering with the SCO’s investigation,” Wall said.
The archivist argued it was only when the Trump and Biden classified documents sagas were “reported publicly in the press” that the National Archives began responding to congressional inquiries.
“Accordingly, our actions and responses with respect to both of these matters have been entirely consistent and without any political bias,” Wall argued.
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Trump insisted on keeping numerous allegedly classified documents for a year and a half after his presidency ended in early 2021 and even after the National Archives asked him to hand them over, with his possession ending in the August 2022 FBI raid. But he has argued, without showing direct evidence, that he had declassified all of them.
Biden had retained some classified records since his Senate years, which ended in early 2009, and others since the end of the Obama presidency in early 2017. As a senator and then as vice president, he did not have the power to declassify.
