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Culture War Roundup for the week of January 9, 2023

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What do you do when caught with top secret documents? Deflect:

[He] didn’t know the documents were there, and didn’t become aware they were there, until his personal lawyers informed the White House counsel’s office, one source familiar with the matter told CNN.

Of course, this time it’s Joe Biden, not Donald Trump. The President’s staff has handed over several documents, including TS//SCI, leftover from his time as VP. His personal attorneys found the documents on November 2nd while clearing out a closet in his former Penn Biden center office, immediately notified NARA, and handed off the hot potato the next day. Since then the DoJ has appointed an attorney to figure out who’s responsible for the illegally handled files. Other than that, most everyone involved has refused to comment unless they represent one of the parties in court.

Now for the obvious comparisons:

  • The type of documents seem similar to those kept in Mar-A-Lago, and were haphazardly filed in a similar manner

  • NARA didn’t know about (or request) the missing files

  • If Biden’s team is concealing more documents, they’re doing a much better job

  • The FBI is watching but not serving any warrants

  • Perhaps most importantly, the President is deflecting and denying rather than crying “witch hunt”

This leads, naturally, to two movies on one screen. Either the President is taking all the right actions after some staffer’s fuckup, or the security state is shamelessly giving him a slap on the wrist. What few outlets are writing on the subject fall into these two narratives. Democrats can’t help but compare the “scope and scale” of the violations, while Republicans emphasize the lack of door-kicking.

Neither stance addresses the real deciding factor of a smoking gun. This is going to be a Hillary situation. Like her infamous server, responsibility is diluted enough that no charges will be brought. (Note that I’ve made the same prediction about Mar-A-Lago.) Both narratives will try to spin epistemic uncertainty into iron-clad assurance, thus adding no value.

The only real conclusion is that you or I wouldn’t get off nearly so easily. If you’re going to store classified documents for your job, you’d better talk softly and hire a big staff.

While I don't expect the public to follow the plot, both incidents do have quantitative and qualitative differences, though I suspect this will become less true as time goes on. As far as I know, Team Biden found about 12 documents and handed them over within 24 hours, whereas Team Trump had around 300 and dragged his feet for months.

Anyone crying "where is the raid" is either trying to score political points in bad faith (which is fine if that's the game), or is not thinking too hard.

the President is deflecting and denying rather than crying “witch hunt”

He appears to be front-running it, if anything. Now that the story is (finally) out, he said

[The people who found the documents] did what they should have done. They immediately called the [National Archives] … turned them over to the Archives, and I was briefed about this discovery and surprised to learn that there were any government records that were taken there to that office," the president added. "But I don't know what's in the documents. My lawyers have not suggested I ask what documents they were

As far as I know, Team Biden found about 12 documents and handed them over within 24 hours, whereas Team Trump had around 300 and dragged his feet for months.

Except, if we are to believe the Biden team story, it is arguably worse. He didn't even know he had them, thus they were far less secure. Just MIA for a whole decade. The fact that team Trump was adversarial to the classification people doesn't make his conduct bad.

thus they were far less secure

This doesn't follow from the given. Allegedly they were lost in some locked closed that nobody went in and out of for years. Something like that. The FBI had security footage from Mar al Lago of people going in and out of where the documents were stored.

The fact that team Trump was adversarial to the classification people doesn't make his conduct bad.

It course it makes his conduct worse. I mean, whats worse: unknowingly keeping a work laptop, then giving immediately when found; or, unknowingly keeping a work laptop, and refusing to give it back, and forcing the police to come get it?

Allegedly they were lost in some locked closed that nobody went in and out of for years.

Yeah. Of course, that's why a random mover found them. Plus, the location where the documents were located get substantial funding from the Chinese government. More strikes against.

It course it makes his conduct worse. I mean, whats worse: unknowingly keeping a work laptop, then giving immediately when found; or, unknowingly keeping a work laptop, and refusing to give it back, and forcing the police to come get it?

This does not follow. There was a legal dispute about the propriety of him having the documents, including whether they are still classified and whether some, all, or none are actually his personal property. This is not like a work laptop. It is a laptop that you used at work, but claim to have purchased yourself, and contains intermingled work product and stuff for your dad's birthday party. And even the status of the work product is in question because you may be allowed to keep significant (or all) portions of it because you are allowed to keep form memos, explainers, etc between jobs.

but claim to have purchased yourself

This breaks the analogy because there is no legal theory where Trump can claim he owned the property, especially after he was no longer president. He didn't create the documents. His office may have, but it was probably created by the IC. Regardless, it's spelled out that he can't keep any of it after he leaves office. Sure, it might be mingled with personal effects which need to be separated, but he is legally required to give back State property. Of course he is allowed to dispute that he is allowed to keep it, but he can't refuse to show why.

This breaks the analogy because there is no legal theory where Trump can claim he owned the property, especially after he was no longer president. He didn't create the documents. His office may have, but it was probably created by the IC. Regardless, it's spelled out that he can't keep any of it after he leaves office.

This is all basically false, aside from the claim that many of the documents were created by his office or the IC. Before the 1970s, he would be presumed to own it all. Only because of Nixon and a bunch of new rules created wildly and haphazardly in backlash to him (many of dubious constitutionality) is there any theory that all the President's papers are not personal effects. That he can't have them after leaving office also relies on two dubious theories: First, that he cannot declassify document haphazardly as president (even though all classification authority rests with him), and second that Biden's unprecedented stripping of his security clearance is allowed.

In other words, for what Trump did to even be bad (not to mention illegal) every consecutive allegation and legal theory against him has to be correct. If even one is wrong, the whole case crumbles like a Jenga tower. OTOH, team Biden's constructed narrative is an admission to a felony.

Then we disagree about what is true. AFAIK ex-presidents cannot keep classified information. Perhaps this wasn't the case 53 years ago.

Almost every ex-president had classified information in their libraries until those documents were declassified on December 31, 2006 stemming from Clinton's 1995 EO. The Clinton, W, and Obama libraries likely contain classified info that hasn't reached the 25 year limit. Also, most ex-presidents are looped in on some level of classified briefings, and have special access points placed in their residences, which are considered secure. The only reason this Trump-FBI saga isn't following normal, quiet, ex-President procedures is because Biden stripped his clearances, and the FBI decided to escalate for publicity reasons.