It took CNN This Morning co-host Don Lemon all of six minutes on Tuesday to warn that the story that President Biden had classified documents at Penn Biden Center from his time as vice president has “already been politicized by those on the right and the former president.”
During a segment with senior legal affairs correspondent Paula Reid, Lemon asked, “can you lay out the differences between this and the Mar-a-Lago document issue?”
Reid began by highlighting a difference that does not matter, but acting like it does, “So, based on what Biden's team is saying, they’re setting up some key differences from the Trump case. The first one is just the volume of materials that we're talking about. At this point the Biden matter we're dealing with less than a dozen documents versus the hundreds in the Trump case.”
Other differences Reid cited were, “Biden's lawyers say they immediately cooperated, they turned over the documents they discovered that they continue to cooperate with the Justice Department” and “Biden is not under investigation for potential obstruction. Trump is. As well as being under investigation for potential violations of the Espionage Act.”
Reid did concede that this is a developing story that could develop into something else, “But Don, the Biden matter, it's only come to light in the past 24 hours and we'll continue to report it out.”
As for the politics of it all, Lemon then wondered, “Former President Trump is also under investigation for possibly mishandling that classified information. This is going to be politicized, I imagine it is already been politicized by those on the right and former president. How is he reacting?”
Really? The right has politicized it, but not the left that argues it is different because reasons?
As for Trump’s reaction to the Biden news, Reid had a problem with Trump’s word choice, "Well, the former president, he posted on his Truth Social platform asking, quote, ‘when is the FBI going to raid the many homes of Joe Biden perhaps even the White House? These documents were definitely not declassified.’ Now that term ‘raid,’ that is a term that his legal team has been chastised by a federal judge for using because he is referring to a duly executed search warrant that was carried out over the summer after information was obtained that documents were being moved."
In more serious analysis, Reid also reported Trump’s defense team believes the Biden news will help them but, “if it’s one thing I've learned over the past seven years of covering various high profile officials who may or may not have mishandled classified information, these things are never simple.”
While Lemon warns against politicization, in the real world, Republicans have responded by simply demanding equal treatment.
This segment was sponsored by Hello Fresh.
Here is a transcript for the January 10 show:
CNN This Morning
1/10/2023
6:04 AM ET
DON LEMON: Okay, so Paula, speaking of differences, can you lay out the differences between this and the Mar-a-Lago document issue?
PAULA REID: It’s a great question, Don. So, based on what Biden's team is saying, they’re setting up some key differences from the Trump case. The first one is just the volume of materials that we're talking about. At this point the Biden matter we're dealing with less than a dozen documents versus the hundreds in the Trump case.
Another big difference is cooperation. Biden's lawyers say they immediately cooperated, they turned over the documents they discovered that they continue to cooperate with the Justice Department.
When it comes to Trump, there was months of back and forth where he refused and ignored the government requests and really only handed over many of the documents when subpoenas were obtained.
The other big difference at this point is obstruction. Biden is not under investigation for potential obstruction. Trump is. As well as being under investigation for potential violations of the Espionage Act.
So, at this point Mar-a-Lago appears to be a much more complex investigation, a more complex set of legal issues. But Don, the Biden matter, it's only come to light in the past 24 hours and we'll continue to report it out.
LEMON: Former President Trump is also under investigation for possibly mishandling that classified information. This is going to be politicized, I imagine it is already been politicized by those on the right and former president. How is he reacting?
REID: Well, the former president, he posted on his Truth Social platform asking, quote, “when is the FBI going to raid the many homes of Joe Biden perhaps even the White House? These documents were definitely not declassified.”
Now that term “raid,” that is a term that his legal team has been chastised by a federal judge for using because he is referring to a duly executed search warrant that was carried out over the summer after information was obtained that documents were being moved.
But interesting that I spoke with a member of his legal team last night and they think the Biden case helps their defense, they say “look, this just illustrates the problem with over-classification in government,” but they’re also watching these two cases very closely, they’re looking for any differences in the handling of the two probes as they argue the Justice Department has made the Mar-a-Lago matter more contentious than necessary. But we'll see. Again, we've been covering Mar-a-Lago for a lot longer and, Don, if it’s one thing I've learned over the past seven years of covering various high profile officials who may or may not have mishandled classified information, these things are never simple.
