thehill | The White House is once again struggling with its messaging, this time on the discovery of classified documents from President Biden’s time as vice president, where administration officials have sought to minimize the damage due to the revelation but have struggled to address it cohesively.
Democrats, meanwhile, have had scattered reactions, ranging from praising the Biden administration over its cooperation with the Department of Justice (DOJ) and National Archives to suggesting a congressional review of the materials over national security concerns. Others have acknowledged what a political headache it has become for the president.
The disjointed responses are in part a reflection of mixed messaging by the White House, including when it prematurely told reporters last week that a search of classified documents potentially kept by Biden was “complete” before the administration said days later that more documents were found.
Officials have been adamant that they are limited in how much they can say about the discovery of the documents, what’s in them and when the president was informed of the situation, citing an ongoing Justice Department investigation and the appointment of a special counsel by Attorney General Merrick Garland, who was chosen by Biden to lead the agency.
“We understand that there’s a tension between the need to be cooperative with an ongoing DOJ investigation and rightful demands for additional public information. And so we’re trying to strike that balance and being as clear as we can,” Ian Sams, a White House spokesperson for investigations, told reporters on Tuesday.
Addressing the matter to the public has largely been left to White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre, who has at times sparred with reporters over questions about why the White House didn’t reveal the discovery when it was made in November, when Biden learned of it and whether any other searches were underway.
On Thursday, Jean-Pierre said that “you should assume that it’s been completed, yes” in response to a question about a second set of documents that turned up at Biden’s home in Delaware, including in his garage. But on Saturday, the White House acknowledged that five more classified documents had been found at Biden’s home — the first time it was the administration, not a news report, that revealed a discovery.
When questioned on Tuesday over whether she’s being directed to not be forthcoming, Jean-Pierre said that she knew as much as the press did at the end of last week, before the next discovery was revealed on Saturday.
She also pushed back when asked if she’s upset that she came out to the briefing on Friday with incomplete and inaccurate information.
“Well, what I’m concerned about is making sure that we do not politically interfere in the Department of Justice, that we continue to be consistent over the last two years. And that is continue to refer you all when it comes to an ongoing process,” she said.
Jean-Pierre also added that she and other members of the press office found out about the documents in Biden’s office in Washington in November when CBS broke the news last week. The press secretary has also faced questions about whether the White House would have disclosed the findings at all if not for the CBS report.
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