They say success in politics has much to do with timing. Hitting the right issue in the right way at the right moment can make a campaign. Failing to do so can break it.
If that’s true, then the person at the Biden re-elect who hit “send” on a fundraising email Thursday, subject line “Do you remember how you felt?,” while the president was in the middle of an impromptu press conference denying he had problems with mental acuity may want to start looking for another job.
If there was ever an example of bad timing, that’s it. How can one read something like that and not think, “It’s not a question of my remembering. Does Biden?” It stepped totally on the message.
Fortunately for Biden and his hopes for a second term, the late-night comedians who define political humor didn’t catch on to this fast enough to get it into their monologues — even though there’s nothing all that funny about it.
Nonetheless, by focusing on what special counsel Robert Hur wrote about Biden’s failing memory in his report on his mishandling of confidential government files dating from his time as vice president, they missed the more significant nugget in Hur’s explanation of why there would be no indictment.
Remember, the Biden Justice Department indicted former President Donald J. Trump over the same issue. The outcomes were different, Hur explained, not just because Biden couldn’t remember things but because he cooperated with the investigation while Trump didn’t.
That should about blow the case out of the water. It all but confirms Trump was singled out for special treatment, as he claimed. The case against him is political, and it’s okay for America to move on because there’s really nothing to see.
As a former president and as a citizen, Trump has rights. He doesn’t have to turn over every document they ask for to the government. Every departing chief enters into a negotiation regarding what they can take with them when they leave. The rules are not at all clear.
They’re obviously not supposed to take any of the furniture that was there when they moved in with them (one recent first couple apparently missed that memo). As far as any documents go, the president and the National Archives are usually allowed the time necessary to work out who gets to keep what.
The former president was not afforded the same luxury as his predecessors. His suggestion the Biden Justice Department rushed the case into court to damage him politically now looks stronger.
Equal Justice Under Law. That’s what it says on the pediment of the United States Supreme Court building.
It may not be a reality, and that’s being kind, but it’s still something we expect. More importantly, we as a people tend to respond with passion and energy when we see that most essential of American doctrines tossed aside.
If Biden did any of the things with classified materials that Trump is accused of doing — and Hur’s report makes it pretty clear he did — then the DOJ either erred in not moving forward with an indictment or was wrong to have indicted Trump.
Or at least that’s a more substantial argument today than it was when the week began.
Peter Roff on February 11, 2024
