One disagreement, although I know what you mean. The Biden/Pence issue wouldn't have been covered by the PRA. Trying to get in before the whackjobs start screaming this.
You are giving the 'leftist' too much credit. This boils down to an independent investigation by a special counsel under a DOJ that has operated independently of the administration, with an Attorney General who has made efforts to be non-partisan. No one is allowed to mishandle classified information, which is why every known case of mishandling is investigated. The prosecutor, however, has the discretion to determine whether to bring charges or not, as it is a standard practice. Now that the indictment has been unsealed, we can see the details of the charges. You clearly see his "mishandling" case is extremely much more severe than that of Pence and Biden. It easily reasonable to not indict Pence and Biden but indict Trump given what we now know. However, different perspectives exist. If you honestly believe there is an unfair pick and choose approach here, please explain your reasoning. Why do you think Trump should not be indicted? Alternatively, why do you think Biden and Pence should be indicted?
you are smarter than just to repeat but yes, that simplistic mindset is why there is even an argument about unfairness here
One could argue that if there are no consequences to mishandling classified information, that it is allowed.
Being investigated is itself a consequence. No reasonable person want to be investigated by the federal government. But that's a reasonable point; however, honest mistakes do happen, and I would prefer not to see the federal government prosecuting individuals for honest mistakes if they fully cooperate in rectifying them. Perhaps imposing fines to cover the government's investigation costs could serve as an additional appropriate consequence.
understand the point about "honest mistakes," but there are an awful lot of cases where someone unknowingly has something in their possession--guns, drugs, etc.--and upon discovery the law pursues and prosecutes them
Yeah, and I think that's overprosecution. There are, however, cases of mistakes with gross negligence. Some of those deserve punishment when the negligence leads to real harm.
I'm glad she said it's "not a threat" just in case some "card carrying members of the NRA" got confused.
Have Biden and Pence been found to have been in a conspiracy to instruct justice? The charges against Trump go beyond just Top Secret documents he illegally obtained. Also some laws related to that deal with intent. Trump is on tape admitting he has classifies documents and that he is aware that they are classified and he can't declassify them. Trump is on tape laughing about it and saying that he has a classified document which he believes shows a General was lying and that means that Trump won that argument. There is record of Trump telling his lawyers he didn't want them looking in the boxes, and asking couldn't they just say they have no documents. So his intent to lie is on record. Trump then asks if Lawyers they might just destroy any documents that look bad. Trump's lawyers wouldn't do it. Trump then plotted with a co-conspirator to move the documents and then have the lawyer come in and certify there are no documents there. So there is no evidence of Pence or Biden doing anything like that. It shows that prosecuting Trump for this isn't based on political bias. It is based on intent and a willingness to destroy classified documents share classified documents which is shown that he knows is wrong. Anyone that makes the argument that if you apply the law equally to Biden or Pence isn't really familiar not even the evidence but likely not even aware of some of the actual charges on which Trump was indicted.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2023/06/10/biden-trump-indictment-doj-politics/ Trump indictment thrusts Biden into unprecedented territory Biden’s leading adversary is being prosecuted by Biden’s Justice Department — a highly sensitive dynamic that is already fodder for Republicans By Matt Viser June 10, 2023 at 6:00 a.m. EDT The month before he was sworn into office, President Biden vowed to keep a significant distance between himself and any actions the Justice Department might take under his watch. “I’m not going to be telling them what they have to do and don’t have to do,” he said in a CNN interview in December 2020. “I’m not going to be saying, ‘Go prosecute A, B or C.’ I’m not going to be telling them. That’s not the role. It’s not my Justice Department, it’s the people’s Justice Department.” The comments encapsulated a core aspect of Biden’s run for office: his promise to restore confidence in American institutions after the chaotic tenure of President Donald Trump, who often showed little compunction about employing the levers of government for his own ends. That notion — the ironclad separation of law and politics — will now be tested like rarely before in American history. Trump, who is Biden’s predecessor and also his leading 2024 opponent, has now been indicted and charged with crimes that Biden’s own Justice Department is prosecuting. Anything the president says that is critical of Trump will probably be seized upon by Republicans as evidence that he is trying to influence the legal case. Any appearance he makes with his own attorney general, Merrick Garland, will face intense scrutiny and could fuel further attacks. “President Biden has to keep a moat between himself and the Justice Department,” said Douglas Brinkley, an author and presidential historian. “You definitely don’t want to see Biden and Merrick Garland whisper together. They barely can be seen at a public event together now. They certainly can’t be in huddle mode. That’s a strange scenario in itself.” Even before Trump’s indictment for allegedly mishandling classified documents became public Thursday night, Biden was asked by a reporter how he could persuade Americans to trust the independence and fairness of his Justice Department when it is repeatedly attacked by Trump. Biden nodded toward an answer he is likely to continue giving. “Because you notice I have never once — not one single time — suggested to the Justice Department what they should do or not do, relative to bringing a charge or not bringing a charge,” he said at the close of a news conference with British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak. “I’m honest.” On Friday, Biden largely shrugged off shouted questions about Trump as he traveled to North Carolina for several events. The White House, asked for comment on the indictment, referred questions to the Justice Department, which also was not commenting. “We are just not going to comment on this case and would refer you to the DOJ, which runs its criminal investigations independently,” Olivia Dalton, the White House principal deputy press secretary, said Friday. “I just don’t have any comment,” she reiterated at least seven times. Dalton did confirm that Biden and other senior White House aides had no advance knowledge of the indictment and found out about it from news reports. “I have no comment,” Biden repeated, while touring machinery used for job training at Nash Community College in Rocky Mount, N.C. Asked later if he’d spoken to his attorney general, Biden responded: “I’ve not spoken to him at all, and I’m not going to speak with him. And I have no comment on that.” To complicate the politics further, the president faces his own investigation by special counsel Robert Hur, who is looking into allegations that Biden, too, improperly handled classified documents. The cases are different — Biden’s seems to involve far fewer documents, and unlike Trump, he appears to have fully cooperated with investigators — but Trump has repeatedly cited Biden’s case, suggesting without evidence that it is more serious than his own. If Biden is cleared — as Trump’s vice president, Mike Pence, was last week, after accidentally taking a small batch of classified documents and voluntarily giving them back — Trump’s supporters are likely to claim a double standard. In addition, Biden’s son Hunter is currently under federal investigation and faces potential tax and gun charges. Prosecutors are expected to resolve that case soon by filing charges, closing the case or reaching a plea deal, any of which could bring political complications to the White House. The U.S. attorney overseeing that case, David C. Weiss, was appointed by Trump, and Biden has not moved to replace him, presumably to avoid any appearance that he is interfering in his son’s case. In the short term, Biden may be able to avoid weighing in on the case and will no doubt attempt to keep it at arm’s length in the coming weeks. But the case will unfold at the same time as the turbulent presidential campaign, probably forcing Trump’s case to the forefront and potentially making it hard for Biden to ignore. And the president is hardly known as the most disciplined speaker, as even his close aides acknowledge. “It sets our country up for a bizarre moment, with a sitting president trying to put an ex-president in jail,” Brinkley said. “It’s super tricky. … It is a very fine dance that Biden has to do. He has to use all his finesse and make sure he doesn’t get trapped into attacking Trump in an unsavory manner about the Miami case. He makes one screw-up with that, and it blows up big.” John Dean, former White House counsel for President Richard M. Nixon, whose congressional testimony against the president during Watergate hastened Nixon’s resignation, said that Biden so far has been “very, very savvy” by distancing himself from the investigation. “As president, he’s in a delicate position,” Dean said. “Because this happened — because his predecessor compromised so much national security information by waltzing off with it at the end of his presidency.” Dean said that Biden probably has to weigh the national security implications more than any legal or political fallout, meaning he could be more directly involved in international diplomacy. “It’s the national security, not the political implications, that could involve Biden,” he said. “A lot of diplomacy has to be going on, and it could escalate to his level to assure foreign governments that, ‘Yes we can handle our national security information.’” During his campaign, Biden often vowed to ensure the Justice Department’s independence if he won, in large part to differentiate himself from Trump. Biden reiterated that message when he announced Garland as his pick for attorney general — a move that came on Jan. 7, 2021, the day after the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol. “We need to restore the honor, the integrity, the independence of the DOJ of this nation that has been so badly damaged,” Biden said at the time. “I want to be clear to those who lead this department who you will serve: You won’t work for me. You are not the president’s or the vice president’s lawyer. Your loyalty is not to me. It’s to the law, the Constitution, the people of this nation.” more at the link
its true. see post above quoting kari lake. look at all the other republican politicians threatening violence in the wake of the indictment. look at the thread starter and the title of this very thread. look at how many (including posters in this thread) say that if trump is indicted there should be revolution and saying if trump is indicted then they will "go after" democrat politicians. look at polling which shows trump supporters saying violence is justified. look at january 6th and how many trump supporters continue to say it was justified. there is no denying it at this point...trump supporters are domestic terrorists or at best have aligned themselves with domestic terrorists. the lines have been clearly drawn and you are either on the side of the united states, the constitution, the rule of law and truth or you are on the side of donald trump. there is no middle ground.
I would also like point out that Biden, Pence were all treated equally under the law and the DOJ. Biden, Pence and Trump all had classified documents they shouldn't have. The DOJ gave all of them chances to return the documents. Trump was given multiple chances. Biden and Pence both returned the documents. A special prosecutor was appointed to Biden even though a search warrant wasn't required to retrieve all the documents he had. The difference in the case and the indictment wasn't because of a biased DOJ. It was because of the actions Trump took when the requests for the documents were made. Trump was treated with additional leniency. He was given additional requests and far more effort applied to getting the documents back from him before a special prosecutor was appointed in his case.
