Politics

EXCLUSIVE: Republicans Demand AG Garland Explain Why Biden Doc Story Was Hidden Before Midterms

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Brianna Lyman News and Commentary Writer
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A group of more than 40 Republicans are sending a letter to Attorney General Merrick Garland demanding to know why news of classified documents from President Joe Biden’s tenure as vice president being found in a non-secure location was withheld until after the midterm elections, according to the document obtained by the Daily Caller.

Biden’s personal attorneys allegedly discovered several classified documents while packing files and subsequently notified the National Archives and Records Administration, CNN reported Tuesday, citing two sources familiar with the matter. Several of the classified documents allegedly held materials related to Ukraine, Iran and the United Kingdom. Biden was reportedly unaware that the documents had been found at the office and was notified via the White House counsel’s office.

The news came as Republicans took control of Congress. On Tuesday the House created a new oversight committee to investigate the “weaponization” of federal agencies like the FBI and Department of Justice (DOJ). (RELATED: GOP Rep. Kelly Armstrong Pushes Back Against CNN Anchor Who Tries To Downplay Concerns About Biden Doc Story)

Republican Missouri Rep. Mark Alford led the cohort of Republicans demanding answers as to why the information was only recently made public despite authorities reportedly having knowledge of it six days prior to the midterm elections.

“Classified documents were discovered at the Penn Biden Center on November 2, 2022, only six days prior to the midterm elections, which decided the balance of power for the 118th Congress,” the letter reads. “This discovery occurred shortly before you appointed special counsel, Jack Smith, to criminally investigate President Trump as part of the Mar-a-Lago raid, a central issue in the midterms for both Congressional Democrats and Joe Biden.”

“Did the White House request to withhold this information prior to the midterm elections?” the letter asks.

Letter to Garland Re Biden … by Brianna Lyman

“Why did the Biden administration and your Department of Justice fail to disclose this information publicly?”

The letter also asks whether a special counsel will be appointed and whether Congress was notified of the findings and if so, when.

“The fact that President Trump is being criminally investigated for mishandling classified documents, while President Biden is not receiving the same level of scrutiny for his mishandling of classified documents, leads us to believe that the Justice Department’s investigation of President Trump is nothing more than a partisan and politically motivated attack on President Trump,” the letter reads.

The letter was signed by dozens of representatives, including Jim Banks, Dan Crenshaw, Burgess Owens, and Nick Langworthy.

“The American people deserve to know if prior to the midterm elections the White House covered up the fact that Joe Biden left classified documents at his think tank,” Alford said in a statement to the Daily Caller. “That’s why I’ve led a coalition of my colleagues in Congress to demand that Merrick Garland investigate and provide answers immediately.”

Daily Caller editorial director and WMAL host Vince Coglianese said Tuesday that the Biden story was merely a “stunt” that was timed in order to destroy the credibility of Republicans who seek to investigate intelligence agencies.

“When did they know about it? It was before the election, obviously, before the midterms. When did we find out about it? Well, after the midterms,” Coglianese said. “The guy was vice president of the United States … he absconded with classified information. It ends up in his think tank at the University of Pennsylvania and they just discover it and now the story we are all supposed to believe is, ‘look how responsible he was’?”

Coglianese said the story was purposely released after the midterms because it would not be as damaging.

“It is of course after the midterms, the damage of such a revelation is gone, once again the Justice Department has meddled in an election, refused to tell the American people things that were germane ahead of an election so that they could make a reasoned judgement about whether or not they wanted to continue to support the party in power,” Coglianese said.

“But another piece of this is that this very week, Republicans took over the United States House of Representatives and not only did they take over the House, they forced Kevin McCarthy to govern as a speaker who will allow a robust, detailed, deep investigation into the corruption inside of the federal government, a church-style committee à la the Church Committee of the 1960s, dedicated to looking into the corruption and the anti-American behavior of the federal government.”

Coglianese said the story was purely a “stunt” so that the Biden administration and Garland could “sell a lie to the American people that our justice system is good and not corrupt and working as intended.”