In the wake of President Biden's handling of classified documents, his aides are reportedly apprehensive about the potential unveiling of "embarrassing details" by Special Counsel Robert Hur's investigation.
According to a report by Axios on Sunday, while the aides do not anticipate criminal charges against Biden, they fear the investigation could expose unsettling details, possibly including photographs, of the document storage methods.
The classified documents, dating back to Biden's tenure as vice president, were found at the Penn Biden Center in November 2022. CBS News was the first to report on the discovery in January 2023, followed by the White House's disclosure of additional classified documents found at Biden's Delaware residence.
"The documents were not the subject of any previous request or inquiry by the Archives," stated Richard Sauber, special counsel to the White House. He added, "Since that discovery, the President's personal attorneys have cooperated with the Archives and the Department of Justice in process to ensure that any Obama-Biden Administration records are appropriately in the possession of the Archives."
The Axios report suggests that Hur's report could be released as early as this week. Even in the absence of criminal charges, Biden's aides reportedly anticipate the details within the report to be politically damaging.
In January 2023, Biden defended the discovery of the documents, stating, "I'm going to get the chance to speak on all of this, God willing it'll be soon, but I said earlier this week and by the way my Corvette is in a locked garage. It's not like it's sitting out in the street."
Axios further reported that any photographs of the storage practices could potentially ignite a political storm, reminiscent of the backlash following the release of photos showing former President Trump storing documents at Mar-a-Lago, including in a bathroom.
In August 2022, FBI agents seized classified records from Trumps Mar-a-Lago residence during an unprecedented raid. The former president was subsequently indicted on 37 federal counts, including willful retention of national defense information, conspiracy to obstruct justice, and false statements in the classified documents investigation.
The indictment stated, "The classified documents TRUMP stored in his boxes included information regarding defense and weapons capabilities of both the United States and foreign countries; United States nuclear programs; potential vulnerabilities of the United States and its allies to military attack; and plans for possible retaliation in response to a foreign attack."
It further warned, "The unauthorized disclosure of these classified documents could put at risk the national security of the United States, foreign relations, the safety of the United States military, and human sources and the continued viability of sensitive intelligence collection methods."
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