New York Democratic Representative Dan Goldman called out Ohio Republican Representative Jim Jordan after Jordan claimed there is a "double standard" regarding separate investigations into former Republican President Donald Trump and Democratic President Joe Biden's misuse of classified documents.
Jordan wrote:
"Why was President Trump's home raided but not President Biden's?"
"Why did the FBI take pictures of Presidet Trump's so-called classified documents but not President Biden's?"
"Americans are tired of the double standard."
You can see Jordan's tweet below.
Earlier this month, government documents were found at the Penn Biden Center for Diplomacy and Global Engagement in Washington, D.C.
Biden said he was "surprised" classified documents were found at the think tank, saying people know he "take[s] classified documents, classified information seriously" and his lawyers did the right thing when they "immediately called" the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) and turned them over.
The scandal has only become more complicated by the discovery of more documents at Biden's private residences, drawing comparisons to the ongoing federal investigation into Trump, who denied he broke federal law regarding presidential documents he'd spirited away from the White House.
Trump's home was raided over the summer by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) but unlike Biden, he has repeatedly asserted that the investigation into his misuse of classified documents is nothing more than a political hit-job and attempted to discredit federal authorities.
Goldman quickly fact-checked Jordan by pointing out Trump "obstructed justice by failing to comply with a subpoena" whereas Biden "volunteered all docs." He also noted that it is "standard procedure for the FBI to photograph everything they find during a search warrant."
He added:
"In the future, feel free to reach out to me directly with your questions."
"And before you 'investigate the FBI' to obstruct their investigations into you and others, you might want to brush up on the FBI Manual of Investigative Operations and Guidelines (MIOG) so you don’t ask any more dumb questions."
You can see Goldman's tweets below.
Goldman—who before running for Congress was best known for serving as lead majority counsel in the first impeachment inquiry against Trump and as lead counsel to House Managers in Trump's subsequent impeachment trial—was praised for his measured response.
Many joined him in criticizing Jordan.
Trump's legal troubles erupted over the summer when he alerted the world the FBI executed a search warrant for his Mar-a-Lago estate. Sources said Trump was in possession of classified material—including nuclear secrets—that prompted the intelligence community to voice concerns about national security.
Afterward, Trump claimed he had the ability to declassify any and all documents or information by thinking it was declassified. His claim was widely disputed by experts who noted there is a specific federal process that must be adhered to before any information can be declassified and some categories of information cannot be declassified by even the President.
His claims were shut down by federal prosecutors who heard the explanation from Trump's attorneys, who made the ability to withhold documents from review critical to Trump's defense.
Attorneys with the Department of Justice (DOJ) are reportedly putting Trump on the "fast track to prosecution." They have maintained the material Trump removed from the White House should never have been taken and the intelligence contained within was relevant to global affairs.
