President Joe Biden mocked his predecessor, former President Donald Trump on Friday over his claim that he had declassified the documents FBI agents retrieved from Mar-a-Lago earlier this month.
Biden dismissed a reporter’s question about Trump saying he “just declassify them all” referring to the classified documents that were at Mar-a-Lago.
“Well, I just want you to know I’ve declassified everything in the world!” Biden said. “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 details. I don’t even want to know, I’ll let the Justice Department take care.”
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.”
“For example, I have, in my home, a cabined-off space that is completely secure,” Biden said. “I’m taking home with me today’s PDB [President’s Daily Brief]. It’s locked. I have a person with me — military with me. I read it, I lock it back up, and give it to the military.”
Since FBI agents executed a search warrant at Mar-a-Lago earlier this month, Trump and some his closest allies have said the former president declassified the documents before leaving the White House. However, more than a dozen former Trump White House aides, including two former chiefs of staff, have disputed that claim.
