President Joe Biden is under great scrutiny of the public after it was revealed that his lawyer found sensitive U.S. Intelligence documents in November 2022 in a private office in Washington D.C. According to CNN, the president spoke to the public in a press conference addressing the controversy surrounding him; however, the president and his cabinet spoke to the public and conveyed that procedural regiments were followed immediately when those documents were recovered in November 2022.

WHY IS THE ISSUE SURROUNDING THE DOCUMENTS SERIOUS?

To begin, it was reported by Politico that the documents were extremely sensitive, considering the fact that they were U.S. Intelligence papers containing information about Iran, Ukraine, etc. Given the nature of the documents, the fact that these papers were found in the President’s private office, believed to be owned by him when he was the former Vice President of Barack Obama, was alarming not only to the public, but also to the national government. 

It was reported by the New Yorker that the President and Vice President deal with critical documents every day; however, those documents should not be transported to a different location, and when the candidate’s term ends they are to submit any possessions of theirs to the National Archives. Any shortcomings in these procedures can prove to be a national security crisis as the whereabouts of sensitive information are relatively unknown. 

HOW WAS THE ISSUE HANDLED?

According to the Washington Post, Biden and his cabinet have remained adamant that the Intelligence documents were recovered back in November. An investigation has been opened with Merrick Garland, a high-ranking American attorney, as the overseer of the case. Currently, evidence is being gathered along with reports being taken to create a timeline to understand all of the circumstances of the case. 

WHAT DOES THIS MEAN FOR THE PRESIDENT?

Joe Biden is under an open investigation on the national level meaning that all his actions leading up to the discovery of the documents will be viewed under a bigger lens. According to Newsweek, despite the outcome of the case, it is likely that the President would not face any criminal charges, as the statute of limitations for the crimes has run out. Regardless, in the face of the public, the President has discredited himself. Former President Trump committed the same offense as the current President when U.S. Intelligence documents were found in his Mar-A-Lago hotel. Biden was one of the first political figures to call Trump out on his actions but not even a few months later, the President was found guilty of the crime he once criticized. As the investigation is active, Biden is to remain in his position and there are no plans to prosecute or impeach him on any charges.