When you've lost Trey Gowdy

“I think prosecutors ought to speak through indictments,” Gowdy, [Fox News host and] former federal prosecutor said. “What Jim Comey did with his press conference was wrong. Robert Mueller has no business weighing in on anything on whether or not a crime was committed. Rob Hur, the same analysis. [...] Prosecutors don’t speak to press conferences or reports… Rob Hur’s job was to write a confidential report, not do opposition research for the Republican Party. Prosecutors are held to a different standard. We’re not political hacks and they should not act like that.”

  Mediaite

...but hey, do what you want...you will anyway.

How could this possibly go wrong?

I have a feeling this is going to backfire on them.

They don't know when to quit, do they?

...but hey, do what you want...you will anyway.

Expect nothing less

I think you can put money on it.

...but hey, do what you want...you will anyway.

Are these two events related?

Klain getting out before things get too hot?

...but hey, do what you want...you will anyway.

UPDATE 01/22/2023:

Officials from the Department of Justice spent more than 12 hours searching President Biden's Wilmington, Del. residence Friday, and found six new classified documents.

Biden's personal attorney, Bob Bauer, announced the extraordinary development in a Saturday night statement.

[...]

Some of the documents date back to Biden's time as a a senator, while others were from his time as vice president, Bauer said. The DOJ also took some handwritten notes for further review, he said.

[...]

Biden has been defiant about the issue, telling reporters on Thursday that he has "no regrets" about how he and his team have handled the discovery and disclosure of the documents.

"I think you're going to find there's nothing there," Biden told reporters.

  NPR

I think they found plenty there.

Was his beach house searched?

Really bad, Joe

The White House lawyer leading the response to the classified documents found at President Biden's home and office said on Saturday that five more pages of classified material had been found in Biden's Wilmington residence.

[...]

"We are confident that a thorough review will show that these documents were inadvertently misplaced, and the President and his lawyers acted promptly upon discovery of this mistake," according to [Biden lawyers'] statement.

  NPR

So, Hunter was in that house. If any of those documents have anything to do with China, or anything else Hunter was involved with, the fireworks are going to be incredible. In fact, I wouldn't be shocked to find out Joe did unethical things in order to help his troubled/wayward son succeed in life, myself.

When it confirmed the first discovery in the D.C. office, there was no mention of the second batch recovered in Delaware. It was only after news reports that revealed the later discovery did the White House acknowledge it.

[...]

On Thursday, after reports [of that second batch of] documents were discovered at his Delaware garage, Biden turned defensive when pressed by a reporter. "My Corvette's in a locked garage. OK? So it's not like they're sitting out in the street," he said.

Really, really wrong tack to take, Joe.

Joe's natural self-righteousness and temper are not going to serve him well in the next two years of a House Republican onslaught.  There may be a silver lining if it encourages a Democrat to (hopefully successfully) primary Joe in '24.

On Friday, Republican House Judiciary members sent a letter to the attorney general announcing their inquiry into the handling of the documents and the appointment of Hur. Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, chair of the House Judiciary Committee, and Rep. Mike Johnson, R-La., demanded "all documents and communications" between the DOJ, FBI and White House related to the "mishandling of the classified documents" and the appointment of the special counsel.

And now, another finding Saturday morning.

Expect this to be one of the articles of impeachment the Republicans in the House are going to file against Biden.   

...but hey, do what you want...you will anyway.

UPDATE 01/21/2023:  More.

As he should

Turns out the second batch of classified documents was found in Biden's Wilmington, Connecticut, garage.  I assume Trumpland has called for Biden's house to be raided.

Special counsel Robert Hur is a Trump appointee.  Best practice.  It won't make this whole shitshow better, but it avoids making it worse.

...but hey, do what you want...you will anyway.

UPDATE:  As expected..but dumber.

UPDATE:  Oh, wait...

The appointment comes hours after the White House counsel’s office said in a statement that Biden’s aides located documents with classified markings at two locations inside his home in Wilmington, Delaware. The documents were located in a storage area in Biden’s garage and an adjacent room, the statement reads. Biden frequently spends weekends at the home, located in a wealthy, wooded enclave on a lake.

  CNN

Two locations at the Biden residence.

Speaking Thursday, Biden said the documents were in a “locked garage” and that he was cooperating fully with the Department of Justice.

“It’s not like they’re sitting out on the street,” he insisted when a reported asked why he was storing classified material next to a sports car.

Fucking lame, Joe. Trump could have said the same thing.

The president said he was going “to get a chance to speak on all of this, God willing, soon.”

The only thing he better say is he's so sorry that in fact, he won't be running for president in 2024, because this was as irresponsible as he claimed Trump was.

By bringing on a special counsel, Garland is insulating himself from the politically sensitive case, though he’ll still get the final say on whether to bring any charges. When that decision comes, no matter the outcome, it will surely become a major flashpoint in the 2024 presidential race.

No fucking kidding.

CNN previously reported that the initial batch discovered when Biden’s personal attorneys were packing files at his former private office contained 10 classified documents, including US intelligence materials and briefing memos about Ukraine, Iran and the United Kingdom.

Some of the classified documents were “top secret,” the highest level. They were found in three or four boxes that also contained unclassified papers that fall under the Presidential Records Act, CNN has reported.

Classified records are supposed to be stored in secure locations. And under the Presidential Records Act, White House records are supposed to go to the National Archives when an administration ends.

[...]

Since 2015, there have been near-constant FBI probes into presidents and major candidates: Hillary Clinton’s emails; Trump’s ties to Russia; his efforts to overturn the 2020 election and his hoarding of classified materials; and now Biden’s handling of classified files.

We are circling the drain of international standing.

UPDATE:

The appearance is of dumbshittery.  And of a belief that "the base" is dumb (which, to be fair, it is).  Both Special Counsel Hur AND FBI director Wray were Trump appointees.

Oh, swell

Aides to President Joe Biden have discovered at least one additional batch of classified documents in a location separate from the Washington office he used after leaving the Obama administration.

[...]

The White House did not return a request for comment.

  MSN

I bet not. They're going to need a huddle.  Especially if the "separate" location was his house.

Biden aides have been sifting through documents stored at locations beyond his former Washington office to determine if there are any other classified documents that need to be turned over to the National Archives and reviewed by the Justice Department, the person familiar with the matter said.

Anybody but me think they ought to have done that at the end of the Obama administration? At the latest.  

A second good opportunity would have been BEFORE he chimed in on criticizing Trump for holding classified documents.

 ...but hey, do what you want...you will anyway.

UPDATE:

Earlier on Wednesday, press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre sparred with reporters over the discovery of the first batch of documents, avoiding answering questions on why the administration didn’t inform the public sooner when attorneys for Biden made the discovery on Nov. 2, just six days ahead of crucial midterm elections.

  The Hill

I think that question answers itself!

Oh, real nice, Joe

Several classified documents from President Joe Biden’s time as vice president were discovered last fall in a private office, Biden’s attorneys acknowledged Monday.

Attorney General Merrick Garland has asked the US attorney in Chicago to investigate the matter, a source familiar with the matter tells CNN, and congressional Republicans are also taking notice.

Biden’s lawyers say they found the government materials in November while closing out a Washington, DC-based office – the Penn Biden Center for Diplomacy and Global Engagement – that Biden used as part of his relationship with the University of Pennsylvania, where he was an honorary professor from 2017 to 2019.

Fewer than a dozen classified documents were found at Biden’s office, another source told CNN. It is unclear what the documents pertain to or why they were taken to Biden’s private office.

[...]

The classified materials included some top-secret files with the “sensitive compartmented information” designation, also known as SCI, which is used for highly sensitive information obtained from intelligence sources.

[...]

In November, NARA sent a referral to the Justice Department to look into the matter, a source with knowledge of the situation told CNN.

The US attorney in Chicago, John Lausch Jr., is investigating. Lausch was one of the rare Trump-era holdovers who wasn’t asked to resign after Biden’s inauguration. He was appointed by Trump in 2017 and unanimously confirmed by the Senate.

[...]

The discovery of the materials come as special counsel Jack Smith is investigating former President Donald Trump for potentially mishandling classified records at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida. Federal investigators have recovered at least 325 classified documents from Trump as part of their inquiry.

  CNN

Yeah, I don't think the count is the fucking problem.

Jesus Tapdancing Christ.

“President Biden has been very critical of President Trump mistakenly taking classified documents to the residence or wherever and now it seems he may have done the same,” said GOP Rep.

[...]

Biden was critical of Trump when he saw the photograph taken by the FBI that showed an array of documents found on Trump’s property last summer.

“How that could possibly happen? How one – anyone could be that irresponsible?” Biden said. “And I thought what data was in there that may compromise sources and methods? By that I mean names of people who helped or, et cetera. … totally irresponsible.”

[...]

James Comer of Kentucky, who is set to become the House Oversight Chairman. “How ironic.”

How ironic, indeed. If those documents in Biden's office weren't planted by Trump people, he's got a fucking lot of explaining to do. And for the love of Pete, he should not be trying to run for office in 2024.

Ever since the FBI searched Mar-a-Lago in August – a search that uncovered dozens of additional classified files – Trump has promoted wild and unfounded allegations about his predecessors’ supposed mishandling of government records.

[...]

The news about classified records turning up at Biden’s private office is sure to provide new fodder to Trump, who has already announced his 2024 presidential bid.

Well, no shit.

...but hey, do what you want...you will anyway.

UPDATE:

Exactly.  And that was the one case that was most likely, because it was the easiest to prove.  Trump will skate again.  Fuck you, Joe Biden.

UPDATE:

They were already planning to.  And now they'll have an actual reason.

As far as I'm concerned, though, Kamala Harris would make just as good a president as Joe, and she doesn't have all the personal character flaws.

UPDATE:

"Some" top secret.  Just say it, CNN.  Ten top secret.

Except for the last one, those are all good points.  But that doesn't change the fact that prosecuting Trump for the one easily provable crime is now going to be highly unlikely.

As for the last point, how the hell do you not know that you have classified documents?  Did he tell someone to give them back to NARA and they didn't do it?  I'm not buying it.  Whatever happened, my previous point stands.

“People know I take classified documents, classified information seriously. When my lawyers were clearing out my office at the University of Pennsylvania … they found some documents in a box in a locked cabinet, or at least a closet. And as soon as they did, they realized there were several classified documents in that box and they did what they should have done,” Biden said.

  The Hill

"Or at least a closet."

UPDATE:  There are more!  At a "separate" location.