Joe Biden Mocks Donald Trump Over Claim He ‘Declassified Everything’ – Newsweek

President Joe Biden has mocked former President Donald Trump for claiming that he secretly declassified all of the classified documents that were recovered by the FBI during the Mar-a-Lago raid.

Biden cracked a smile and appeared to be close to laughing outside the White House on Friday after a reporter pointed out that Trump "said that he declassified all those documents" that are currently the subject of a Department of Justice (DOJ) investigation.

The president dismissed a question on whether Trump had the power to "just declassify them all" by mockingly stating that he had just "declassified everything in the world," while also insisting that he was "not going to comment" on the matter.

"Well, I just want [you] to know I've declassified everything in the world!" Biden said after grinning. "I'm the president, I can do it all! C'mon! Declassified everything... I'm not going to comment, because I don't know the detail. I don't even want to know, I'll let the Justice Department take care."

When asked if it was "ever appropriate" for a president to take home "classified and top secret documents," Biden said that it depends on "the circumstances." He was not asked whether it was appropriate for a president to keep classified documents at home after leaving office.

Biden said that he was taking home his own daily intelligence briefing on Friday but stipulated that he had a "completely secure" area that he would be reading it in while accompanied by a member of the military and would be returning the document to military personnel just after reading it.

Multiple boxes of classified documents, including some marked "top secret" and some that reportedly may have included nuclear secrets, were recovered during the August 8 raid.

Biden has insisted that did not know about the raid ahead of time and that he is not involved in the ongoing DOJ investigation into whether Trump's taking of official documents broke multiple federal laws including the Espionage Act.

Trump has called the raid a "break-in" in multiple Truth Social posts and suggested that Biden was involved in planning the raid and what calls a "political Witch Hunt" targeting him.

On Friday, the former president expressed outrage over the release of the redacted affidavit that was used to justify the Mar-a-Lago search warrant. Trump had demanded that the full, unredacted version of the affidavit be released instead.

The DOJ opposed releasing the affidavit over concerns that it could jeopardize an ongoing investigation and the safety of witnesses, including confidential informants in Trump's orbit, at risk.

The version that was released on Friday following an order from Judge Bruce Reinhart was heavily redacted and obscured any clues about the identities of the informants.

However, experts including Trump-friendly former attorney Alan Dershowitz have said that the affidavit likely gives the DOJ enough evidence to indict the former president, if an indictment is pursued.

Trump lashed out at the redactions on Truth Social soon after the affidavit was released, accusing the federal authorities of participating in "public relations subterfuge."

"Affidavit heavily redacted!!!" Trump wrote. "Nothing mentioned on 'Nuclear,' a total public relations subterfuge by the FBI & DOJ, or our close working relationship regarding document turnover - WE GAVE THEM MUCH. Judge Bruce Reinhart should NEVER have allowed the Break-In of my home."

Newsweek reached out to Trump's office for comment.

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Joe Biden Mocks Donald Trump Over Claim He 'Declassified Everything' - Newsweek

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