Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.) on Monday said she was “concerned” about the discovery of classified documents in the home and office of President Joe Biden, giving Republicans an opportunity to create chaos and distraction from the issue of American Care.
The GOP has seized on the findings to demand double standards, even though Biden has cooperated with authorities, made no effort to hide the findings and the number of documents is smaller than the trove found on former President Donald Trump.
“They don’t want to talk to us about how to move the country forward,” Stabenow said of Republicans on NBC’s “Meet The Press.” “And I can tell you the people of Michigan, they want people who are going together, solve, who care about their families and are not interested in all this chaos and investigation. Where the Republicans feel comfortable, unfortunately.
Asked whether Biden should reconsider his earlier claim that Trump’s handling of classified documents was reckless now that he has been found to have the classified files, Stabenow replied: “Well, it’s a shame. Right?”
He continued: “I mean, it’s a shame if you find some documents, it’s not accidental. They don’t think it’s right and they’ve moved to correct it, working with the Department of Justice, working with everyone involved in the archives.
The White House said Saturday that aides found more classified documents than reported at Biden’s Delaware home. Biden’s lawyers previously found classified documents in the office Biden used in Washington.
Attorney General Merrick Garland has appointed a special counsel to investigate. Trump is under criminal investigation for removing classified documents from the White House and refusing to demand their return.
Stabenow, who has announced his retirement in 2024, is opening up a Senate seat in a key swing state that has gone Democratic in the past few elections, also being asked to weigh in on Sen. Kyrsten Sinema Arizona to leave the Democratic Party and change party affiliation to independent.
Stabenow did not directly answer whether Democrats should still support Sinema’s re-election bid in 2024, but praised the lawmaker for his work on gun safety legislation.
“We’ll see how this all plays out. I think it’s very, very early,” Stabenow said.