Congressman Johnson’s statement on the Attorney General Garland’s announcement that he is appointing a special counsel to probe President Biden’s classified documents

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congressman Hank Johnson (GA-04) released the following statement after Attorney General Merrick Garland announced he is appointing a special counsel to investigate the handling of classified documents found at a former office and the Delaware home of President Biden.

“It is refreshing to see the Department of Justice restored from its politicization during the Trump years, and I applaud Attorney General Garland for acting swiftly in appointing a special counsel to investigate the Biden document discoveries. Based on what we know, there is a big difference between the Trump and Biden document cases. At first, Trump lied about their very existence, while his lawyers asserted that there were no more documents. When Trump finally admitted that he knowingly took and possessed the classified documents, he refused numerous requests to return them. He even failed to comply with a subpoena. Classified documents were actually seized from Trump’s own desk. Moreover, there is no documentation supporting any claim that any of the Trump documents were declassified. The Trump document case is an open and shut case and should proceed without delay to a final and just resolution. There remains much we don’t know about the Biden document discoveries, and it’s too early to reach any conclusions. I am confident, however, that the process has begun to ensure that we get to the truth, and that justice will be done.”

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