GOP rep: Biden and Trump both wrong for document handling

Rep. Don Bacon (R-Neb.) on Sunday cast both President Biden and former President Trump as wrong in their handling of classified documents after leaving office following news of the discovery of materials belonging to Biden were made public this week.

“I think there’s blame to go around to both sides of this,” Bacon said. “And I think if you’re an honest statesman, you just can’t point fingers to the other guy and deny that there was problems on our side as well.”

A special counsel has been appointed both in the Biden and Trump cases but Bacon joined a chorus a lawmakers on Sunday in pointing out the differences between the two.

“In one case, you have long-term negotiations where President Trump was not handing over the information,” Bacon said on ABC’s “This Week” in an interview with Jonathan Karl. “And then you have on the other hand, classified information that’s been stored for six years.”

Attorney General Merrick Garland last week appointed a special counsel to investigate the Biden documents — a move that Bacon said he supports. The FBI searched Trump’s Mar-a-Lago residence in August 2022.

Bacon said the appointment of special counsel to investigate the Biden documents ensured that there was fairness between the discovery of Biden’s documents and Trump’s documents.

“They’re both about classified information being in areas that’s illegal and the improper handling of highly classified information,” Bacon said. “So, I think it shows a sense of fairness to have a special counsel for both.”