As questions are swirling about President Joe Biden’s handling of classified documents, CNN’s Chris Wallace says he should not address the matter.
White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre faced a barrage of questions from reporters on Thursday about the timeline of discovery of the documents and how transparent the White House has been.
On Friday, CNN’s Don Lemon asked Wallace if he believes it is “unfair” for Jean-Pierre to face reporters’ questions and whether Biden should be “out front on this.”
“Look, they pay press secretaries to do this kind of thing,” Wallace responded. “It is unfair in the sense that there was a lot of stuff she couldn’t say and shouldn’t say. But Joe Biden absolutely should not come out at this point.”
He continued:
“Yesterday, they found another document. You know, they don’t know what they don’t know at this point. I’m sure they’re searching every place that Joe Biden was since he left the vice presidency. Before you put the President of the United States out there, who is the target of this investigation, you’ve got to be pretty sure you know all the facts.”
Watch the video below:
Chris Wallace, asked whether it's unfair to have Press Sec. Karine Jean-Pierre out front on the classified docs story:
— The Recount (@therecount) January 13, 2023
"Joe Biden absolutely should *not* come out at this point … yesterday they found another document. They don't know what they don't know at this point." pic.twitter.com/66NW2sk9os
Wallace’s comment comes after Attorney General Merrick Garland appointed a special counsel to investigate the president’s handling of classified documents.
Biden has already publicly addressed the discovery of classified documents from his time as vice president this week.
On Tuesday, he told reporters his lawyers “did what they should have done. They immediately called the [National Archives] … turned them over to the Archive” after classified documents were discovered in an office at the Penn Biden Center.
“I was briefed about this discovery and surprised to learn that there were any government records that were taken there to that office,” he added. “But I don’t know what’s in the documents. My lawyers have not suggested I ask what documents they were.”
And on Thursday, he faced a question after it was revealed classified documents were found in the garage of his Wilmington, Delaware, residence.
Fox News’ Peter Doocy asked, “Classified materials next to your Corvette? What were you thinking?”
“By the way, my Corvette’s in a locked garage, OK? So it’s not like they’re sitting out in the street,” Biden responded.
He went on, “People know I take classified documents and classified material seriously. I also said we’re cooperating fully and completely with the Justice Department’s review.”
In a statement after Garland’s announcement, Special Counsel to the President Richard Sauber said in a statement, “We are confident that a thorough review will show that these documents were inadvertently misplaced, and the President and his lawyers acted promptly upon discovery of this mistake.”
