Joe Biden, Donald Trump Get Very Different Treatment On Classified Documents

The mishandling of classified documents by elected officials became a major story in 2022 and into 2023, thanks in large part to the FBI's raid on former President Donald Trump's house at Mar-a-Lago. 

Curiously though, the outrage over Trump's alleged mishandling of classified material died down significantly when it was revealed that President Joe Biden had also likely mishandled classified documents after his time as vice president. That likelihood became a certainty thanks to the investigation of special counsel Robert Hur. And Joe Biden's own words.

READ: Donald Trump On Debating Against Joe Biden: 'Never The Sharpest Bulb In The Room'

According to the Wall Street Journal, Biden is on tape telling his ghostwriter that he was well aware of the fact that he'd taken classified material. "I just found all the classified stuff downstairs," Biden said on tape. 

Hard to have a more obvious admission of guilt than that. 

So why does he escape consequences, while Trump faces charges?

As if we needed more examples of how different political ideologies are treated within the justice system.

NEWARK, N.J. - Former U.S. President Donald Trump attends UFC 302 at Prudential Center on June 1. (Photo by Luke Hales/Getty Images)

Biden, Trump Get Wildly Different Treatment For Similar Offenses

Biden is on tape admitting that he had classified documents in 2017 and discussed them openly with someone not authorized to view them. Yet Hur didn't recommend charges against him, saying that he was effectively too old and senile to know any better. Trump, though, faces charges from prosecutors.

Odd how that happens, isn't it?

It's even more infuriating considering that Biden said in 2023 that he was "surprised" to learn classified documents had been found in his offices. Yet he's on tape in 2017 telling his ghostwriter that he had found them downstairs. And did nothing to return them. 

There's also an argument to be made that Biden's offenses were actually worse, considering he was vice president and not able to declassify material himself. But Biden enjoys one key piece of protection that Trump doesn't: he's a democrat. 

If Trump was on tape bragging about finding classified material he should not have possessed in order to use it in a for-profit book, the media would be endlessly haranguing everyone in sight to prosecute. But because it came from someone who shares their political views, they're silent. 

In a time when half the country believes that there's two standards of justice, especially when it comes to Donald Trump, the wildly disparate treatment in these similar cases isn't going to convince them otherwise. 

At least Biden got an $8 million advance in his book deal though.