Don Jr. Is Wrong About Biden's Docs But At Least He's Consistent

By Conover Kennard — January 10, 2023

In another seemingly cocaine-fueled rant, Donald Trump Jr. blasted Joe Biden over the news of the President turning over ten documents that were discovered while closing a Washington, DC-based office. No one had to hound Biden to turn them over as they did with former President Donald Trump. Biden and his attorneys did the right thing. Trump did not. The one term President insisted on keeping them.

Still, Junior got very excited over the news and somehow thought that the 300 documents that Trump concealed and refused to turn over were the same as the 10 documents President Biden and his attorneys immediately turned over when they were discovered while closing out a Washington, DC-based office.

Junior somehow thinks this will exonerate his father after he stole documents, hiding them at his Florida resort, Mar-a-Lago.

Attorney General Merrick Garland has asked the US attorney in Chicago to investigate the matter, and that's the way it should be. Frankly, I'm of the thought that Presidents, and any office holders, should relinquish all documents, classified or otherwise when leaving office. But that's just me.

Here is a good thread from Marcy Wheeler:

Let me say more about what we know of the docs that Trump stole, for comparison.

Remember, there were 4 sets:

1) returned Jan 2022
2) turned over June 2022
3) seized August 2022
4) found in Nov 2022 https://t.co/eHsGUpcbzo

— emptywheel (@emptywheel) January 10, 2023

Of group 1, the classified docs were mixed in with personal items and clippings. That might just suggest that Trump had returned entire boxes.

Except he reportedly curated those boxes (and told NARA they were getting 12 but sent 15).

Still, it was intermingled.

— emptywheel (@emptywheel) January 10, 2023

We don't know about group 4, the two docs found in November, but it is most equivalent to this -- forgotten in a storage closet not being accessed every day.

— emptywheel (@emptywheel) January 10, 2023

We don't know how the docs turned over as part of group 2 were stored--except they were in the storage closet (which had clothes and was otherwise insecure). ONLY classified info was turned over.

[fixed group 3]

— emptywheel (@emptywheel) January 10, 2023

It's group 3 where the fact pattern is very different. Docs were found in 3 different places:
a) in boxes in the storage closet
b) in a leatherbound box in Trump's office closet
c) in one or two desk drawers IN Trump's office pic.twitter.com/JuHFn7kYSl

— emptywheel (@emptywheel) January 10, 2023

Boxes in the storage closet, a, were a mix, some with other books, some with gifts. The most interesting involves a box or two with REALLY old clippings and classified docs.

— emptywheel (@emptywheel) January 10, 2023

The leatherbound box, b, is where most of the most sensitive docs were, TS/SCI, which were also stored with Time Magazines covers. THIS set is consistent with the idea of Trump taking them as trophies. But it's ALSO where 43 empty classified folders were.

— emptywheel (@emptywheel) January 10, 2023

Those empty classified folders MAY be one of the reasons DOJ thinks Trump still has classified docs. Altogether there were 46 empty folders.

— emptywheel (@emptywheel) January 10, 2023

Finally, there are docs stored in drawer(s) in Trump's office. One of those was the Stone clemency, stored with a doc associated with the French President, possibly Macron. Importantly, the Stone clemency was MIXED with that classified doc.

— emptywheel (@emptywheel) January 10, 2023

That may be interesting for entirely other reasons. But storage in the desk drawer, possibly along with ~8 other controversial clemency packages, may be of interest ON TOP of the unsecured classifie doc.https://t.co/xCBZDW1wX4

— emptywheel (@emptywheel) January 10, 2023

Finally, and most damning, there was a doc stored in a desk drawer that compiled:
1) Secret doc
2) Confidential doc
3) Message from religious leader
4) Message from book author
5) Message from pollster
6) Poss message from lawyer

The messages POSTDATE 1/20/21. pic.twitter.com/XqPRmh5tUQ

— emptywheel (@emptywheel) January 10, 2023

I've always called this a mini smoking gun (and it's inconsistent with reports, eg, from WaPo, that this was only about trophies). It means at least once, Trump appears to have USED classified info after leaving office. It would mean they knew it was there, and were using it.

— emptywheel (@emptywheel) January 10, 2023