Posted on 02/12/2024 6:31:53 AM PST by Red Badger
They say success in politics has much to do with timing. Hitting the right issue in the right way at the right moment can make a campaign. Failing to do so can break it.
If that’s true, then the person at the Biden re-elect who hit “send” on a fundraising email Thursday, subject line “Do you remember how you felt?,” while the president was in the middle of an impromptu press conference denying he had problems with mental acuity may want to start looking for another job.
If there was ever an example of bad timing, that’s it. How can one read something like that and not think, “It’s not a question of my remembering. Does Biden?” It stepped totally on the message.
Fortunately for Biden and his hopes for a second term, the late-night comedians who define political humor didn’t catch on to this fast enough to get it into their monologues — even though there’s nothing all that funny about it.
Nonetheless, by focusing on what special counsel Robert Hur wrote about Biden’s failing memory in his report on his mishandling of confidential government files dating from his time as vice president, they missed the more significant nugget in Hur’s explanation of why there would be no indictment.
Remember, the Biden Justice Department indicted former President Donald J. Trump over the same issue. The outcomes were different, Hur explained, not just because Biden couldn’t remember things but because he cooperated with the investigation while Trump didn’t.
That should about blow the case out of the water. It all but confirms Trump was singled out for special treatment, as he claimed. The case against him is political, and it’s okay for America to move on because there’s really nothing to see.
As a former president and as a citizen, Trump has rights. He doesn’t have to turn over every document they ask for to the government. Every departing chief enters into a negotiation regarding what they can take with them when they leave. The rules are not at all clear.
They’re obviously not supposed to take any of the furniture that was there when they moved in with them (one recent first couple apparently missed that memo). As far as any documents go, the president and the National Archives are usually allowed the time necessary to work out who gets to keep what.
The former president was not afforded the same luxury as his predecessors. His suggestion the Biden Justice Department rushed the case into court to damage him politically now looks stronger.
Equal Justice Under Law. That’s what it says on the pediment of the United States Supreme Court building.
It may not be a reality, and that’s being kind, but it’s still something we expect. More importantly, we as a people tend to respond with passion and energy when we see that most essential of American doctrines tossed aside.
If Biden did any of the things with classified materials that Trump is accused of doing — and Hur’s report makes it pretty clear he did — then the DOJ either erred in not moving forward with an indictment or was wrong to have indicted Trump.
Or at least that’s a more substantial argument today than it was when the week began.
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A former UPI senior political writer and U.S. News and World Report columnist, Peter Roff is a senior fellow at several public policy organizations. You can email him at RoffColumns AT gmail.com and follow him on social media AT TheRoffDraft.
How can Hur say Biden cooperated when Biden professed no memory of key facts?
These incidents were when Biden was still VP and immediately thereafter...............
Yeah. He cooperated. Like Vincent “the Chin” Gigante cooperated.
Based on recent history, I think that if Trump says “I’m innocent” that is counted as “obstruction of justice”.
And if Trump does not confess to any and all crimes, that is counted as “failure to cooperate”.
“Equal Justice Under Law. That’s what it says on the pediment of the United States Supreme Court building.”
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Sloganeering.
And if Trump does not confess to any and"
Perfect accuracy there.
+1
Excellent post.
They are cut and dried. The president determines what are personal records.
BTTT
If Biden had the time to sit for this interview in the aftermath of a major incident that had diplomatic and military implications like that, then clearly he’s not the president of the United States in any functional capacity.
How can Hur say Biden cooperated when Biden professed no memory of key facts?
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how can they say brandon “cooperated, when he’s been stealing classified documents for decades & never admitted he had them stashed out all up the east coast?
Hur’s unstated conclusion was that it is currently impossible to secure a conviction in DC against a democrat politician, given the state of the politicized democrat jury pool in that district.
yep.
IMO-—HUR KNEW the DOJ would NEVER prosecute Biden-—
HE LAID OUT THE FACTS HE ENCOUNTERED WHILE INTERVIEWING BIDEN.
HE TURNED a NON-PROSECUTING CASE INTO A BIDEN SUICIDE.
HOW COME the MAJOR FACT that BIDEN NEVER was LEGALLY ALLOWED TO HAVE SUCH DOCUMENTS IS CONTINUALLY BYPASSED????
He basically said “I’m not handling this turd. Here it is, you deal with it.”..........................
Based on recent history, I think that if Trump says “I’m innocent” that is counted as “obstruction of justice”.
And if Trump does not confess to any and all crimes, that is counted as “failure to cooperate”.
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we are living in the orwellian world
It’s more than just that. First Trump was cooperating and negotiating. NARA just jumped the gun for political reasons. Second, it was only after the FBI raid that Biden’s people realized “oops”. Biden did not cooperate for over a decade. He had documents from when he was a Senator, and he had them strewn across three unsecured locations. He even read from them, or his notes about them, to his biographer. Only after the raid did they suddenly remember there were all these troves of documents. There was no cooperation over the documents until long after their removal and stashing in various locations - nobody seemed to care (though a few reports suggest Biden staffers had long complained about the handling for many years in the past) because there is this double standard. Trump gets all the scrutiny all the time, Biden… well it seems nobody knew or cared until after the appearance of hypocrisy raised its head. THEN he cooperated.
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