Status: 01/18/2023 10:51 a.m
The frustration of the Democrats over the handling of US President Biden with the sensitive document discovery is growing. You wonder how bad the image damage is – after all, Biden could soon announce his candidacy for the 2024 election.
Incompetence and Chaos in the White House? For days there has been criticism from all sides of US President Joe Biden’s handling of confidential documents – increasingly also from his own camp.
“Just embarrassing that this small number of papers was found on him,” Debbie Stabenow, Democratic Senator from Michigan, told NBC.
Demand for more transparency
Others – such as Democrat Adam Schiff, who led the impeachment process against Trump at the time – are growing dissatisfied with the White House’s crisis management. He called for more transparency and a comprehensive assessment of damage from ABC – just like after the house search of ex-President Donald Trump.
“I think Congress should treat both situations the same way. That means we need to be informed by the Secret Service about whether there is a possible risk to national security, where exactly the documents were and what information they contain.”
Demand: deal more aggressively with revelations
Finding out will be the job of Special Counsel Robert Hur, who has been hired by the Justice Department to handle the case. Not only the sloppiness of Biden and his team in dealing with the secret papers leads to disenchantment among party members. But above all, the communication strategy of the White House, which published information only hesitantly and, what’s more, only in bits and pieces. Many wish – albeit not openly – that the Biden administration would be more aggressive in dealing with these uncomfortable revelations.
Bill Clinton’s former White House Counsel and current crisis manager Lanny Davis advised in a podcast on the flight forward: “The US President should hold a press conference and announce: ‘I just found out that confidential documents were stored in my garage. I have made a mistake and I apologize.'”
Biden is also said to be frustrated
President Biden has refused to comment on the affair for days. He himself – so it is rumored – is said to be very frustrated by this unexpected scandal – after all, he wanted to announce his candidacy for the 2024 presidential election soon.
Democratic MP and longtime Biden confidante James Clyburn said on MSNBC: “I understand that the President himself is a little angry about the way the matter was handled.”
Democrats’ image damaged
Undoubtedly, not only has the president been battered by the affair, but the Democratic Party’s image has also been tarnished, Clyburn confirmed. “Without question – the coverage of the scandal undermines the credibility of the Democrats on this issue.”
Meanwhile, the White House justified its strategy in investigating the secret documents affair. A government spokesman said information was also withheld so as not to obstruct the Justice Department’s ongoing investigation.