Posted on 01/20/2023 9:18:41 AM PST by billorites
President Joe Biden has something that he wants the public to know. After the discovery of highly classified material in Biden’s former office, his garage and library, the President wanted to make one thing (and only one thing) perfectly clear: “I have no regrets.”
It was a moment that rivaled his disastrous observation that, while classified material was found in his garage, it is a locked garage that also housed his beloved 1967 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray.
While Biden’s “corvette standard” for storing classified documents was baffling, his declaration of “no regrets” is downright infuriating. It is also remarkably moronic with a special counsel in the field. Either the President believes that Special Counsel Robert K. Hur will paper over the entire affair or he is doing his best to force his hand with a criminal charge.
Biden was miffed to be even asked about the matter after stonewalling the press for days. He ventured out of his White House bunker to tour storm damage in California and used the victims as a virtual human shield: “You know what, quite frankly, bugs me is that we have a serious problem here we’re talking about. We’re talking about what’s going on. And the American people don’t quite understand why you don’t ask me questions about that.”
The problem is that recent polls show that, while the President has no regrets, the public overwhelmingly does. Most citizens view his conduct as negligent. Roughly two-thirds believe that Congress should investigate the President, including a majority of Democrats. Sixty percent believe that he acted inappropriately with classified material.
Nevertheless, after days of hunkering down with this aides and polls, Biden decided to stick with total and absolute denial of regret or responsibility. It was not a surprise for many of us who have following Biden and his family through the years.
I wrote at the start of this scandal that Biden’s “silence is hardly surprising. Biden has always been better at expressing revulsion than responsibility. Time and again, he has literally rushed before cameras to denounce others, often without basis, for alleged crimes. He has not waited for investigations, let alone trials.” When it has come to his own alleged misconduct, Biden will deflect, deny, but rarely declare responsibility.
The comments on Thursday were classic Biden. He first deflected by using the California victims. He then denied any real responsibility. Despite the appointment of a special counsel to investigate his conduct, he shrugged off the entire matter as something akin to finding a neighbor’s borrowed hammer from 2017 in his garage: “We found a handful of documents were filed in the wrong place. We immediately turned them over to the Archives and the Justice Department …I think you’re going to find there’s nothing there. I have no regrets. I’m following what the lawyers have told me they want me to do. It’s exactly what we’re doing. There’s no there there.”
Of course, there is also a special counsel “there.”
Indeed, it is never a good idea to go public with expressions of no regret when you are being investigated on whether you took classification laws seriously. The statement was right out of the Alex Baldwin School of Criminal Defense in claiming that the gun did it. Fortunately, the President is not (yet) saying that the Corvette did it.
Since the standard is gross mishandling of classified evidence, the last thing you want to do is convey a grossly negligent attitude toward the discovery of highly classified material in your various private spaces. The President even added that he is “looking forward to getting this resolved quickly.” That quick resolution is less likely when you are telling the special counsel that this is no big deal. That is precisely the type of attitude that leads to classified material being stored with your corvette.
It is hard to imagine how Biden’s legal and political team would come up with this as the best approach when the President finally broke his silence. There is a difference between denying and dismissing an alleged crime. As a criminal defense attorney, I would be mortified by a client publicly dismissing the seriousness of a potential crime while he is under investigation. For most defendants, it would constitute “bearding the lion” and prosecutors would not take kindly to the approach.
Of course, the President could be counting on his prior declaration that “no one f**ks with a Biden.” However, he may be saying the quiet part out loud and putting Hur in an early and uncomfortable position. There is a “there there.” It is classified evidence in places like a garage. By stating that this is likely to wrap up quickly, Biden is not only showing little appreciation for the seriousness of the alleged crime but the seriousness of the investigation. He is not only making Hur look like a stooge or cipher. He is making Baldwin look like a comparative genius.
A version of this column also appeared on Fox.com
Gosh! Do you think??
Democrats must be so proud of this man!
“I Have No Regrets”
____________________________________________________
We’ve known that for a long time, Joe. And why should you have regrets? You’ve managed to transfer wealth to an ever greater portion of your constituents for decades in return for votes. The Media and Entertainment industry has praised you the whole time. That kind of justification of your position is bound to create an individual who has little fear of consequences.
Biden is a lying psychopath. But he is also drifting into dementia. PERFECT Democrat leader!!
No regrets...I wonder if that works as a defense for people like me who had a security clearance and I illegally took the Top Secret documents home with me.
I have no regrets I’d do it again if given the chance.
In other words, he doesn’t care. Obviously there are two sets of justice in this country. He is in the privileged group: the party elite and loyal party members.
Of course he has “no regrets.” He’s never been held responsible for any of his criminal, and unethical behavior.
“The fix is in. They told me that the fix is in. Can’t we just move on?”
Yes, he pulled KJP and got out the folder... and then slurred out the message.
Biden has no regrets about clearly breaking federal law by having classified documents at his home?
He certainly will be regretting it all when he is convinced of a Felony by a federal court.
What’s the worst thing that will happen to him? An Impeachment proceeding in the House, BS kangaroo court in the Senate which will result in a 60-40 No Conviction (some dem senators in contested seats will be given permission to vote to convict to enhance re-election chances), and we get the 2nd POTUS in a row to be impeached and 3rd out of the last 5 presidents to deal with what was supposed to be (and for the first 210 years, was) a RARE and UNUSUAL procedure, only used when absolutely necessary...
System ain’t broke though, right?
Just a vote a little harder or something?
“By stating that this is likely to wrap up quickly, Biden is not only showing little appreciation for the seriousness of the alleged crime but the seriousness of the investigation.”
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Its surprising that Turley still thinks that politicians like Biden should have the integrity to respect for the law when they know they are clearly above it. Biden’s dismissive attitude is completely understandable given what Democrats routinely get away with.
As always Biden talks like a wretched scumbag who has absolutely no fear of consequences because there have never been any, that will probably hold and he knows it.
He knows he’s protected long enough to reach his planned resignation date.
The new trial balloon is that placing top secret classified documents in a cardboard box next to typical garage clutter is now "“We found a handful of documents were filed in the wrong place."
Good luck with that one.
-PJ
Obviously there are two sets of justice in this country.
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The blindfold on Lady Justice was pulled off a long time ago.
Its now a system that works quite well for the elites and their favored constituents, not so much for everyone else.
Biden should be impeached on a semi-annual basis, even if he won’t be removed.
As always, Biden’s statement yesterday were like the words of Obama and the Clintons, he has no fear or worry that the Biden family mafia will ever face prosecution.
And he’s counting on the MSM to do their typical cover job . . .
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