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Representative Matt Gaetz thinks the latest developments involving the classified, Obama-era documents found in President Joe Biden's possession will turn out to be a win for the Democrats, rather than a downfall.
"This is probably the best scandal Joe Biden could be in," Gaetz said during a Friday appearance on The Beeny Show.
This week, classified records from Biden's time as vice president were found at a former office used by Biden and in a garage storage at his home in Wilmington, Delaware.
As criticisms mounted, and comparisons were drawn to the Mar-a-Lago raid in August, Attorney General Merrick Garland announced that he was naming a special counsel to oversee a review into the circumstances surrounding the Biden-related documents.
Gaetz claimed the discoveries helps Democrats on two fronts—by allowing Garland to appoint Biden his own special counsel, which could refute the accusations he's running a politically-motivated Justice Department, and by distracting from other issues facing Americans today.
"[A special counsel investigation] resolves that, 'We're not going to go after Joe Biden or Donald Trump over an archivist matter,'" the Florida Republican said. "And now we're talking about this, instead of the fact that purchasing power for our Americans is being depleted...the border is a disaster."
"The double standard is, like, fully on display," Gaetz said.
After FBI agents seized over 300 presidential records with classified markings from former President Donald Trump's home in Florida, the DOJ opened a special counsel investigation into whether he violated laws by mishandling those records.
On Friday, Gaetz said he was unfazed by what was found in the August raid, contending that most former presidents or former vice presidents could be faulted for technical compliance with the Records Act given their access to those documents.
The congressman added that his stance remains much the same, regardless if it's about Trump or Biden, who both served in the White House in the past.
"Back in September, when the left was trying to make us look like a third world country by enveloping us in this archivist dispute with Donald Trump, I thought don't we have better things to be talking about than this? And isn't this pretty embarrassing for our country?" he said.
Gaetz called the White House's response to the records found in Trump's hands "an embarrassing display" because it easily set up the Biden administration for hypocrisy criticisms.
Newsweek reached out to the White House for comment.
About the writer
Katherine Fung is a Newsweek senior reporter based in New York City. She has covered U.S. politics and culture extensively. ... Read more