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Last week President Joe Biden’s classified document scandal continued to evolve when the FBI searched his Delaware home and found six more materials with classified markings from when Biden was in the U.S. Senate. Following these discoveries, Republicans reacted once again and vowed to investigate the matter.
To comment on the discoveries, Rep. Byron Donalds (R-FL), a GOP firebrand who made a name for himself as the alternative for Speaker of the House, joined Newsmax’s “Wake Up America” on Sunday to give his insight.
“To be blunt, I really don’t know where we go from here,” the Florida Republican told Newsmax. “We said from the beginning a former vice president or anybody else has no ability to remove classified documents.”
“Former presidents are different and the reason why former presidents are different is because they are the head of the executive branch and they have the ability to declassify information and to classify information,” Donalds explained in response to Democrats attempting to draw a contrast between Biden and former President Trump’s classified documents found last year at Mar-a-Lago.
“We know former presidents take documents,” he said. “The National Archives know they take documents, and that’s something that’s consistently occurred, no matter who the occupant of the White House was.”
‘EARNED AN F FOR HIS FAILED LEADERSHIP’: REPUBLICANS UNLOAD ON BIDEN ON TWO YEAR ANNIVERSARY IN OFFICE
“The Joe Biden situation is very different. This is more akin to Hillary Clinton, where there are violations of the Espionage Act because they have removed classified information from secure facilities,” said Donalds. “The intent is irrelevant. What you’ve done with it is irrelevant because if you’re not a politician at a high level and you’re let’s say someone in our military apparatus, they are being prosecuted for removing classified information from secure facilities. So this is a very serious issue.”
The Espionage Act was used against President Trump when the FBI raided his estate in August. The law enforcement agency utilized Section 793 which pertains to the “gathering, transmitting or losing defense information.”
“The American people need to understand it’s not about just what was by the tailpipe next to his Corvette,” said Donalds, emphasizing that what is important is when Biden removed the documents and stored them in his home.
“Any document he removed before he took the oath of office to become president of the United States is a violation of the Espionage Act,” he said.
As President Biden continues to deny wrongdoing in moving classified material to his home and other areas, Republicans like Byron Donalds, who sits on the House Oversight Committee, are going to get to the bottom of this scandal. They will hold Biden accountable for his misdeeds as much as the Democrats think they can hold President Trump accountable for the mishandling of classified documents. Biden is clearly in the wrong, and as Donalds explained, President Trump’s situation is vastly different.
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Last week President Joe Biden’s classified document scandal continued to evolve when the FBI searched his Delaware home and found six more materials with classified markings from when Biden was in the U.S. Senate. Following these discoveries, Republicans reacted once again and vowed to investigate the matter.
To comment on the discoveries, Rep. Byron Donalds (R-FL), a GOP firebrand who made a name for himself as the alternative for Speaker of the House, joined Newsmax’s “Wake Up America” on Sunday to give his insight.
“To be blunt, I really don’t know where we go from here,” the Florida Republican told Newsmax. “We said from the beginning a former vice president or anybody else has no ability to remove classified documents.”
“Former presidents are different and the reason why former presidents are different is because they are the head of the executive branch and they have the ability to declassify information and to classify information,” Donalds explained in response to Democrats attempting to draw a contrast between Biden and former President Trump’s classified documents found last year at Mar-a-Lago.
“We know former presidents take documents,” he said. “The National Archives know they take documents, and that’s something that’s consistently occurred, no matter who the occupant of the White House was.”
‘EARNED AN F FOR HIS FAILED LEADERSHIP’: REPUBLICANS UNLOAD ON BIDEN ON TWO YEAR ANNIVERSARY IN OFFICE
“The Joe Biden situation is very different. This is more akin to Hillary Clinton, where there are violations of the Espionage Act because they have removed classified information from secure facilities,” said Donalds. “The intent is irrelevant. What you’ve done with it is irrelevant because if you’re not a politician at a high level and you’re let’s say someone in our military apparatus, they are being prosecuted for removing classified information from secure facilities. So this is a very serious issue.”
The Espionage Act was used against President Trump when the FBI raided his estate in August. The law enforcement agency utilized Section 793 which pertains to the “gathering, transmitting or losing defense information.”
“The American people need to understand it’s not about just what was by the tailpipe next to his Corvette,” said Donalds, emphasizing that what is important is when Biden removed the documents and stored them in his home.
“Any document he removed before he took the oath of office to become president of the United States is a violation of the Espionage Act,” he said.
As President Biden continues to deny wrongdoing in moving classified material to his home and other areas, Republicans like Byron Donalds, who sits on the House Oversight Committee, are going to get to the bottom of this scandal. They will hold Biden accountable for his misdeeds as much as the Democrats think they can hold President Trump accountable for the mishandling of classified documents. Biden is clearly in the wrong, and as Donalds explained, President Trump’s situation is vastly different.
You Can Follow Sterling on Twitter Here