Classified Chaos: Biden’s Documents Debacle
by Richard Luthmann
Special Counsel Robert Hur’s investigation into President Joe Biden’s handling of classified documents concluded without recommending criminal charges. Analysts, commentators, and political operatives speculate about the political repercussions for the octogenarian leader of the free world. Some claim the Hur Report report may be the basis for a 25th Amendment claim. In a letter to Attorney General Merrick Garland, Republican Rep. Claudia Tenney calls for the Cabinet to “explore” the use of the Constitution’s removal provision.
Hur described Biden as a “sympathetic, well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory.” Hur, throughout the more than 300-page report, said “it would be difficult to convince a jury that they should convict him” of a serious felony “that requires a mental state of willfulness” and said he would be “well into his eighties.”
Former Trump Administration aide Stephen Miller claimed the DOJ said Biden is less mentally fit than the average inmate at San Quentin.
However, the report’s lack of attention to key figures, events, and national security concerns, particularly Kathy A. Chung’s involvement and the historical ChinaGate scandal, has led to critical scrutiny. Special Counsel Hur’s investigation detailed Biden’s retention and disclosure of classified materials post-vice presidency but omitted Chung’s critical involvement.
Chung, whom federal prosecutors and congressional investigators interviewed, was involved in a previous scandal at the Commerce Department during the Clinton administration. She was part of a team sanctioned for withholding and destroying critical documents in a federal case related to the so-called Chinagate fundraising investigation. This controversy centered on Chinese efforts to influence U.S. politics, raising concerns about national security vulnerabilities.
Despite her controversial past, Chung was entrusted with Biden’s sensitive documents, highlighting a blurred line between public service and business interests within the Biden family. The Hur Report fails to address her directive from Biden to move susceptible papers to various unsecured private offices in D.C., including the Chinatown neighborhood, and even to his home in Wilmington, Delaware.
While Donald Trump faces federal prosecution for removing classified documents from the White House and storing them at Mar-a-Lago, his private residence, GOP congressional investigators say comparisons between Trump and Biden miss the point. They insisted that Biden’s document scandal is potentially more serious than mishandling state secrets. They suspect it could mushroom into a counterespionage case involving China and national security.
Moreover, credible sources suggest Chung is under FBI investigation as a suspected agent of the Chinese government, a development that could have profound implications for U.S. security and foreign policy. Yet, this detail was conspicuously absent from Hur’s findings, raising concerns about the investigation’s completeness and potential oversight of critical security risks.
The relevant period of mishandling further coincides with 14 months when the Chinese wired almost $6 million in payments to Hunter Biden and his uncle Jimmy Biden, without any known legitimate services, flagged by the U.S. Treasury Department as part of a potential Chinese intelligence-gathering operation.
The omission by the Special Counsel's report of Chung's dual role - as an aide to Joe Biden and a friend of Hunter Biden - raises questions about the investigation’s integrity. Hunter Biden’s dealings with Chung and other figures connected to Chinese intelligence suggest a pattern of behavior that could have profound national security implications. The FBI’s investigation into Chung as a suspected agent of the Chinese government, if true, adds a layer of concern regarding the potential compromise of U.S. interests.
The Special Counsel’s report’s failure to address these critical issues calls for a reassessment of its findings. The complexities of safeguarding classified information, especially in the face of potential foreign espionage, require a more detailed and comprehensive approach.