A leak of confidential documents is shaking up American politics.
For the first time as a former president, former President Trump was seized and searched at his home by judicial authorities, and this time, incumbent President Biden was investigated by a special prosecutor.
Former President Trump has already declared a run for the presidential election, and President Biden is expected to announce his intention to challenge for re-election in the near future, so the investigation of confidential leaks surrounding the former and incumbent presidents is expected to be one of the main issues in the US presidential election next year.
'Confidential documents' at home as well as in the office
The case of leaking former President Trump's classified documents has already been reported to the media several times, and it was also the first decision of voters politically through the midterm elections last November.
It is still in progress, so it cannot be predicted, but unless there is any progress in the investigation or judicial process, the political impact of this case is expected to be quite limited.
(This is because the pro-Trump camp has already defined the incident as political oppression, while the anti-Trump camp has defined it as an obvious illegal act and an act that threatens national security.)
Unlike former President Trump, President Biden's secret leak case This is the start.
On the 9th, it was belatedly revealed that confidential documents related to Ukraine, Iran, and the UK were found in President Biden's personal office.
It was a document during the vice president's tenure, and was found by President Biden's personal lawyers while organizing his office.
The White House immediately reported this to the National Archives, and the documents were transferred to the National Archives the next day.
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But the wave didn't stop there.
Additional confidential documents were found not only in President Biden's office, but also in his sister-in-law.
President Biden's lawyer, Richard Sauber, said that a small amount of classified documents were found in a warehouse in the garage of his Wilmington home, and that a document was also found in a room attached to it.
After the first confidential document was discovered, President Biden's lawyers continued to investigate the home and the like in preparation for the possibility of additional confidential documents.
President Biden immediately stated that he was not aware of the existence of the document and that he would faithfully participate in the investigation.
Attorney General Merrick Garland also announced on the 12th local time that he would appoint Robert Huh, former Attorney General of the Maryland State Prosecutor's Office, as a special prosecutor to investigate the leak of President Biden's confidential documents.
Special Prosecutor Huh is of Korean descent and served as the Chief Assistant Secretary of the Ministry of Justice during the Trump administration.
He seems to have chosen the straight-forward method before the waves get any bigger.
Discovered before the midterm elections, released two months later
As former President Trump was President Biden, who strongly criticized the leak of confidential documents at the time of his retirement, the headwind that came upon him was also great.
Republicans, who controlled the House in the midterm elections, have repeatedly called for a congressional investigation into the case.
In an interview with a media outlet, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy pressed, "There will be a role for Congress in relation to classified documents found in President Biden's personal space."
In addition, House Supervisor Chairman James Comer, a Republican, emphasized in a media interview that "the president's personal lawyer, who does not have confidential access, is still searching for the sister-in-law," and that "it may be a crime scene."
President Biden referred to Wilmington's sister-in-law as a 'crime scene'.
However, regarding the special prosecutor appointed by the Ministry of Justice, he expressed skepticism about the Biden government's action to find out the truth, saying, "The special prosecutor was appointed, but after a long time."
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In the Republican Party, if the documents brought by President Trump, who had the right to declassify at the time, are a problem, then they are pouring an offensive, asking how to explain the documents brought out by Vice President Biden, who did not have such authority.
House Speaker McCarthy took issue with the timing of the disclosure of the leaked secret documents.
Even after knowing that the documents were leaked before the midterm elections in November of last year, the Biden government only disclosed them two months later.
Chairman McCarthy said, "What is surprising is that it was before the midterm elections that we learned of the leak of classified documents. Why did the authorities do it differently from what they did to former President Trump? Why did they raid former President Trump?" Criticize the standards.
In fact, it was known that the leaked documents of President Biden were discovered on November 2 of last year, and if the facts were disclosed at the time when the midterm elections were less than a week away, it is estimated that it would have had a significant impact on the election results.
More important than legal responsibilities
In the case of former President Trump, an investigation is underway over several issues, including not only the leak of secret documents, but also tax issues and the theory of responsibility for the congressional riot, so this case alone will not be able to completely get out of the defensive, but it seems clear that it has faced a fairly advantageous phase.
On the other hand, President Biden seems that his blow will be inevitable.
Fortunately, many of the documents found along with secret documents are personal documents of President Biden, which are not classified as confidential.
The most important thing is 'how important is the leaked confidential document and how much legal responsibility will you have', but there is something just as important.
Whether or not President Biden was aware of the leak.
If the results of the investigation are a matter of legal responsibility, this is because recognition is a part that requires moral and political responsibility as well as legal responsibility.
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If President Biden knew, criticizing former President Trump itself would inevitably become the American version of’Narrow Nambul’.
I don't know if he was conscious of this or not, but President Biden is also emphasizing that he was not aware of the existence of the document itself from his initial clarification.
In fact, when you organize the office you've been using for four years, there may be documents that come unintentionally.
The American political culture, which is tolerant of former presidents, may also have played a part in this happening.
Whatever the reason, as President Biden, he is in a position to answer his legal, political, and moral responsibilities.
As the unprecedented situation in which two former and incumbent presidents were simultaneously investigated by a special prosecutor on similar charges developed, the situation in the US presidential election next year became even more unknown.
To that extent, our calculations, which have to manage the United States, national security, and the economy together, have become more complicated.
(Photo = Getty Image Korea)