Sunday's edition of ABC's This Week, started off with a bang as co-moderator Martha Raddatz conducted a random act of journalism by criticizing President Joe Biden's claim this week that there's "no there there" when it comes to his mishandling of classified documents, a scandal that seems to be growing by the day as more and more documents turn up at his home in Delaware. In her opening monologue and in two other moments in the show, Raddatz seemed astonished at the difference between Biden's words and reality.
"There's no there there. Those were the President's words this week when he was asked about the classified documents found over the last few months at his Delaware residence and a private office in Washington, D.C. But this morning, it turns out that there is even more there than first thought," Radatz said in the opening moments of the show.
Updating viewers on the latest developments of the rapidly metastasizing scandal that has the potential to topple the entire Biden regime, Raddatz reported how "federal investigators from the Department of Justice seized more than half a dozen items from the President's Wilmington home on Friday. Including some documents marked classified, after an extensive but consensual thirteen-hour search of the property."
Underscoring how serious this is, Raddatz had a rare moment of honesty noting that "the search of a sitting President's home dramatically escalates the political fallout, if not the legal problems after the White House consistently tried to downplay the significance all week."
Later on, while talking with senior White House correspondent Mary Bruce, Raddatz marveled at how out of touch Biden appears to be: "the problem is the White House insisted all week the President takes classified documents seriously, they downplayed the special counsel probe. But more classified documents keep showing up," Raddatz said.
Bruce agreed and pointed out how "this drip, drip drip of revelations and discoveries that is only deepening the President's political problems here. It’s only giving more ammunition to his critics."
Continuing to pile on, Raddatz asked Delaware Democrat Senator Chris Coons "how can he say he takes classified material seriously when some of what was found may have been in his home for more than a decade and he seemingly had no idea?"
Is the media finally turning on Biden? Make no mistake, they will never turn on the Democrat Party, but they could be trying to throw old Joe overboard in favor of current Vice President Kamala Harris. Just in time for 2024! Stay tuned!
To read the relevant transcript, click "expand":
ABC’s This Week
1/22/2023
9:01:56 a.m. EasternMARTHA RADDATZ: There's no there there. Those were the President's words this week when he was asked about the classified documents found over the last few months at his Delaware residence and a private office in Washington, D.C. But this morning, it turns out that there is even more there than first thought.
Federal investigators from the Department of Justice seized more than half a dozen items from the President's Wilmington home on Friday. Including some documents marked classified, after an extensive but consensual thirteen-hour search of the property. The President’s personal lawyer disclosed the information last night. Saying some of the records were from Biden's time as Senator and some from when he was Vice President. The search of a sitting President's home dramatically escalates the political fallout, if not the legal problems after the White House consistently tried to downplay the significance all week.
[...]
RADDATZ: The problem is the White House insisted all week the President takes classified documents seriously, they downplayed the special counsel probe. But more classified documents keep showing up.
MARY BRUCE: Exactly! The President has been adamant saying there is no there there. He has been exuding confidence, even if some frustration. Insisting they are doing this by the book, they are fully cooperating. And for days now the White House Press Secretary here has really hammered home this argument that the President takes classified documents seriously and yet they keep finding more of them.
And it is this drip, drip drip of revelations and discoveries that is only deepening the President's political problems here. It’s only giving more ammunition to his critics. And there are still a lot of basic questions here left unanswered including how did these documents get there? What's in them and did the President have any idea that any of them were in his home or in his former private office?
[...]
RADDATZ: How can he say he takes classified material seriously when some of what was found may have been in his home for more than a decade and he seemingly had no idea?
