Donald Trump's federal indictment over alleged mishandling of classified documents has led multiple conservative commentators to ask further questions about President Joe Biden's possession of secret papers.
In January 2022, classified documents from Barack Obama's time in office were found at Biden's private home in Wilmington, Delaware, as well as at a Washington, D.C., think tank office Biden previously used.
Trump, who pleaded not guilty to his 37 charges, took the opportunity while speaking at his golf club in Bedminster, New Jersey, on Tuesday to claim that Biden had "1,850 boxes" at the University of Delaware that he refused to give up.
The Claim
During his post-arraignment speech in Bedminster, Trump said: "Biden sent 1,850 boxes to the University of Delaware making the search very, very difficult for anybody and he refuses to give them up and he refuses to let people even look at them."
The Facts
The 1,850 boxes claim has been repeatedly debunked, although it appears to have little sign of abating.
To be clear, Biden's vacation home in Rehoboth, Delaware, and his Wilmington, Delaware, home were searched by the FBI after classified documents from his time as vice president under Obama were discovered at the Penn Biden Center in November 2022.
The FBI found classified papers at the Wilmington address in various places around the house, including Biden's garage. No documents were found at the property in Rehoboth.
The 1,850 boxes, however, are related to something completely different. These documents are papers donated to the University of Delaware, gathered during Biden's time as a senator.
Unlike documents gathered in the White House during a presidency, senatorial papers do not have the same restrictions.
According to a release from the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) last week, the Presidential Records Act "requires the President to separate personal documents from Presidential records before leaving office," and the act "makes clear that, upon the conclusion of the President's term in office, NARA assumes responsibility for the custody, control, preservation of, and access to the records of a President."
By contrast, as stated by the United States Senate: "Records created and maintained within a senator's office are the property of the senator. Most senators donate their collections to a research repository in their home state when they leave office."
A January article by PolitiFact said that the papers were donated to the University of Delaware, covering his senatorial career from 1973-2009.
The University of Delaware website has a page that also states the details of thearrangement.
"More than 1,850 boxes of archival records from the President's Senate career arrived at the Library on June 6, 2012," it says. "The collection, which also includes extensive electronic records and media, will remain closed pending completion of processing. The records will be available no sooner than the later date of December 31, 2019, or two years after the donor retires from public life."
This is demonstrably different than the Trump's situation, which kicked off an FBI and grand jury investigation following repeated requests by NARA to return classified papers.
We don't know which documents in the Delaware collection (which has not been made public) may be classified, but the conflation of this legal and permitted archiving practice versus the situation that Trump faces is misleading.
Newsweek has emailed a Trump representative for comment.
The Ruling
Needs Context.
The 1,850 boxes referred to by Trump are papers and other media submitted to the University of Delaware, gathered during Biden's career as a U.S. senator from 1979-2009.
U.S. Senate rules state: "Records created and maintained within a senator's office are the property of the senator."
This is in stark contrast to Trump's handling of classified documents. Unlike Biden's preservation of senatorial documents, Trump's indictment alleges he did not respond to National Archive requests for the return of papers, with investigators alleging Trump made it difficult for investigators to find and collect documents he brought with him to Mar-a-Lago.
FACT CHECK BY NEWSWEEK
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
