REMINDER: The special counsel found Biden "willfully retained and disclosed classified materials," including documents "implicating sensitive intelligence sources and methods."
I don't believe that is accurate.
What the Special Counsel found was that
there was evidence that Biden "willfully retained and disclosed classified materials," including documents "implicating sensitive intelligence sources and methods." In legal-speak, there's a major distinction between saying "there was evidence" to support a finding versus a formal finding that actually
weighs the evidence and determines it to be convincing beyond a reasonable doubt. In a whole lot of cases, there is "evidence" to support both sides' positions. The determining issue is the
weight of that evidence -- which side's evidence is the most persuasive.
The way I read the Special Counsel's report is that there was circumstantial evidence -- including the location in which documents were found, etc., that suggests Biden knew they were there and kept them anyway. But because Biden isn't mentally sharp, it is plausible (
not beyond a reasonable doubt) that he simply forgot about them being there and so can't be said to have retained them knowingly. And he may be sufficiently disoriented/forgetful that even if he see the documents, he didn't recognize them as classified. Which is all a way of saying that though there is
some evidence Biden "willfully retained and disclosed classified materials", there isn't enough evidence to prove "willfully" beyond a reasonable doubt.
