NEW DETAILS ABOUT THE CLASSIFIED MATERIALS
FOUND AT PRESIDENT BIDEN'S HOME AND THE FALLOUT.
HERE'S WHAT WE KNOW THIS MORNING.
THE WHITE HOUSE CONFIRMS THE AIDES FOUND FIVE ADDITIONAL
PAGES OF CLASSIFIED MATERIALS ON THE SAME DAY A SPECIAL COUNSEL
WAS APPOINTED TO INVESTIGATE THE MATTER.
THAT BRINGS A TOTAL OF DOCUMENTS RECOVERED TO ABOUT 20.
THE WHITE HOUSE COUNCIL'S OFFICE ANNOUNCING IT WILL NO LONGER
ANSWER QUESTIONS ABOUT THE CONTROVERSY BECAUSE OF A SPECIAL
COUNSEL INVESTIGATION UNDER WAY. PRESIDENT BIDEN'S PERSONAL
ATTORNEYS SAY THEY HAVE BEEN TRYING TO BALANCE THE IMPORTANCE
OF PUBLIC TRANSPARENCY WITH PROTECTING THE INTEGRITY OF THE
INVESTIGATION. BUT THE PRESIDENT HAS NOT BEEN
TRANSPARENT ENOUGH FOR JAMES COMER.
HE'S DEMANDING MORE INFORMATION FROM THE WHITE HOUSE.
>> WE DON'T KNOW EXACTLY YET WHETHER THEY BROKE THE LAW OR
NOT. I WILL ACCUSE THE BIDEN
ADMINISTRATION OF NOT BEING TRANSPARENT.
WHY DIDN'T WE HEAR ABOUT THIS ON NOVEMBER 2nd WHEN THE FIRST
BATCH OF CLASSIFIED DOCUMENTS WERE DISCOVERED.
>> DEMOCRATS ARE COMING TO PRESIDENT BIDEN'S DEFENSE
DETERMINED TO HIGHLIGHT THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN BIDEN'S
HANDLING OF CLASSIFIED DOCUMENTS AND TRUMP'S.
>> WE WERE DELIGHTED TO LEARN THAT THE PRESIDENT'S LAWYERS,
THE MOMENT THEY FOUND OUT ABOUT THE DOCUMENTS THAT DAY TURNED
THEM OVER TO THE NATIONAL ARCHIVES AND ULTIMATELY TO THE
DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE. THAT IS A VERY DIFFERENT POSTURE
THAN WHAT WE SAW WITH DONALD TRUMP.
>> SO LET'S BRING IN CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT, MJ
LEE. GOOD MORNING TO YOU.
LOOK, THERE IS A DIFFERENCE BUT IF YOU'RE EXPLAINING, YOU'RE
LOSING. BECAUSE OVER THE WEEKEND WE GOT
ANOTHER UPDATE OF MORE DOCUMENTS BEING FOUND.
WHAT IS GOING ON HERE? >> Reporter: GOOD MORNING, DON,
YET ANOTHER UPDATE FROM THE WHITE HOUSE COUNCIL'S OFFICE
OVER THE WEEKEND ABOUT MORE CLASSIFIED DOCUMENTS THAT WERE
FOUND THAT WE WEREN'T PREVIOUSLY AWARE OF.
WE ARE TALKING ABOUT FIVE ADDITIONAL PAGES OF CLASSIFIED
DOCUMENTS THAT WERE FOUND AT PRESIDENT BIDEN'S WILMINGTON
HOME ON THURSDAY NIGHT. THIS IS ACCORDING TO THE SPECIAL
COUNSEL TO THE PRESIDENT. HE SAYS HE WENT OVER TO THE
WILMINGTON HOUSE WITH DOJ OFFICIALS TO HAND OVER ONE
CLASSIFIED DOCUMENT THAT HAD BEEN DISCOVERED ON WEDNESDAY AND
IT IS AT THIS POINT THAT THIS GROUP DISCOVERED THE ADDITIONAL
PAGES WITH CLASSIFIED MARKINGS. NOW HE SAID THAT THE DOJ
IMMEDIATELY TOOK OVER THOSE DOCUMENTS AND THAT NOW THAT A
SPECIAL COUNSEL HAS BEEN APPOINTED TO INVESTIGATE THIS
MATTER, THE WHITE HOUSE COUNCIL'S OFFICE IS NO LONGER
GOING TO BE ANSWERING QUESTIONS. >> AND THE PRESIDENT'S PERSONAL
LAWYER PUT OUT THIS LENGTHY STATEMENT OVER THE WEEKEND
TRYING TO DEFEND HOW EVERYTHING HAS BEEN HANDLED SO FAR.
THAT'S KIND OF TRICKY AGAIN SO MANY DETAILS.
I'M NOT SURE IF THE AMERICAN PEOPLE CAN PARSE THE DETAILS.
I'M SURE THEY KNOW THE DIFFERENCE BUT AT THE END OF THE
DAY, MJ, ONE PERSON HAD DOCUMENTS THAT WERE MISHANDLES,
ANOTHER PERSON HAD DOCUMENTS THAT WERE HIS MISHANDLED AND
MAYBE THAT'S HOW THE PUBLIC SEES IT BUT WHAT ARE THE LAWYERS
SAYING? >> WE'RE SEEING THE WHITE HOUSE
PLAY DEFENSE RIGHT NOW. THE PRESIDENT'S PERSONAL LAWYER,
BOB BAUER PUT OUT A LENGTHY STATEMENT OVER THE WEEKEND
EXPLAINING THE DIFFERENT PROCESSES THAT THE LAWYERS
AROUND THE PRESIDENT HAVE FOLLOWED THROUGHOUT THIS PROCESS
AND PARTICULARLY EXPLAINING WHY LAWYERS COULDN'T REALLY DISCLOSE
ALL OF THE INFORMATION THAT THEY KNEW AT ANY GIVEN TIME FOR FEAR
OF INTERFERING WITH AN ONGOING DOJ REVIEW.
I WANT TO READ A KEY PART OF THAT STATEMENT FROM BOB BAUER
THAT I THINK TRIES TO EXPLAIN A MAJOR PART OF THIS PROCESS.
HE SAYS, BECAUSE PRESIDENT BIDEN'S PERSONAL LAWYERS DO NOT
HAVE ACTIVE SECURITY CLEARANCES, WHENEVER A DOCUMENT BEARING
CLASSIFIED MARKINGS WAS IDENTIFIED, THE SEARCH WAS
SUSPENDED OF THE BOX, FILE, OR OTHER SPACE WHERE THE DOCUMENT
WAS DISCOVERED WITH THE POTENTIALLY CLASSIFIED MATERIAL
LEFT IN THE PLACE AS FOUND. NOW HE SAYS THE GOVERNMENT WAS
PROMPTLY NOTIFIED. IT'S FOR THIS REASON THAT THE
PRESIDENT'S PERSONAL ATTORNEYS DO NOT KNOW THE PRECISE NUMBER
OF PAGES IN THE DISCOVERED MATERIAL NOR HAVE THEY REVIEWED
THE CONTENT OF THE DOCUMENTS CONSISTENT WITH THE STANDARD
PROCEDURES AND REQUIREMENTS. NOW THE WHITE HOUSE HAS FACED A
TON OF QUESTIONS ABOUT BOTH THE MESSAGING AND THE TRANSPARENCY.
I THINK WHAT WE CAN SAY WITH CERTAINTY RIGHT NOW IS IT IS
VERY POSSIBLE IN THE COMING DAYS AND WEEKS WE COULD BE LEARNING
ABOUT ADDITIONAL CLASSIFIED DOCUMENTS.
WE JUST DON'T KNOW. >> MJ LEE AT THE WHITE HOUSE,
THANK YOU. >>> LET'S TALK ABOUT THIS WITH
RONALD HEIR. GOOD MORNING, SIR, THANKS FOR
JOINING US. >> GOOD MORNING, GLAD TO BE
HERE. >> WE WERE STRUCK -- THANKS FOR
COMING ON BECAUSE WE WERE STRUCK BY TWO OP-EDS IN TWO DAYS IN TWO
DIFFERENT PUBLICATIONS ONE WAS YOURS IN THE ATLANTIC.
THE TITLE IS BIDEN'S CLASSIFIED DOCUMENTS SHOULD HAVE NO IMPACT
ON TRUMP'S LEGAL JEOPARDY AND THIS PIECE IN "THE WASHINGTON
POST." IF MAR-A-LAGO CASE COLLAPSES,
A -- DISASTER DODGED, AMERICA. IT GOES ON TO SAY, ACCORDING TO
THE LATEST DATA, 45% OF AMERICANS IDENTIFY AS
REPUBLICANS OR LEANING TOWARDS REPUBLICANS 44% DEMOCRAT OR LEAN
IN THAT DIRECTION. THE JUSTICE DEPARTMENT SERVES
THEM ALL AND ITS CREDIBILITY RESTS ON BEING PERCEIVED TO PLAY
FAIR. YOU WROTE IN YOUR PIECE ONE OF
THE MOST SUPERFICIAL PARALLELS. ONLY THE MOST SUPERFICIAL
PARALLELS CAN BE DRAWN BETWEEN THE TWO.
I WONDER, DONALD, IF YOU THINK IN THE EYES OF THE PUBLIC THESE
CASES ARE INEXTRICABLY LINKED? >> THAT'S WHY WE WROTE THE
ARTICLE WE WROTE, IS BECAUSE IT'S CERTAINLY TRUE THAT WHEN
YOU HAVE TWO PRESIDENTS, ONE CURRENT AND ONE PAST, WHO BOTH
HAVE, YOU KNOW, IT'S FAIR TO SAY THEIR TEAMS AND THEM PERHAPS
HAVE MISHANDLED CLASSIFIED DOCUMENTS.
IT'S REALLY IMPORTANT TO UNDERSTAND WHAT CONDUCT IS AT
ISSUE. AND AS FAR AS WE KNOW NOW, AS
YOU JUST ACCOUNTED, THE BIDEN PEOPLE CLEARLY MADE A BLUNDER IN
HAVING THESE DOCUMENTS TAKEN AND -- TAKEN AWAY FROM THE WHITE
HOUSE. THERE'S NO TWO WAYS ABOUT THAT,
BUT IT APPEARS FROM WHAT WE SEE, AND TIME WILL TELL IF IT'S TRUE.
IT APPEARS THEY DON'T HAVE ANY INTEREST IN CONCEALING THESE
DOCUMENTS THEY'RE NOT TRYING TO KEEP THESE DOCUMENTS.
THEY'RE AS EAGER AS ANYBODY TO GET THEM BACK TO WHERE THEY
BELONG IN THE GOVERNMENT. AND TRUMP'S TEAM, AND TRUMP
HIMSELF, IT APPEARS FROM THE EVIDENCE, HAVE ACTIVELY BEEN
ENGAGED IN FIGURING OUT WAYS TO NOT GIVE THEM BACK OVER A PERIOD
OF MANY, MANY MONTHS. IT'S THAT INTENTIONAL
CONCEALMENT AND OBSTRUCTION THAT GIVES RISE TO CRIMINAL POSSIBLE
PROSECUTION. AND THAT'S THE KEY DIFFERENCE
HERE. SO I THINK WHAT'S IMPORTANT IS
FOR THE PUBLIC TO TRY TO UNDERSTAND, ESSENTIALLY, THE
CRITICAL DIFFERENCE, WHY IT MATTERS TO HAVE A FORMER
PRESIDENT DELIBERATELY KEEPING AND CONCEALING CLASSIFIED
INFORMATION OF THE HIGHEST SENSITIVITY, AND I THINK MERRICK
GARLAND, THE ATTORNEY GENERAL, HAS ACTUALLY HANDLED IT QUITE
WELL BY APPOINTING SPECIAL COUNSELS.
BECAUSE, CLEARLY, THERE ARE PEOPLE OUT THERE WHO ARE GOING
TO SAY, EVEN THOUGH I DON'T THINK IT'S FAIR, AND I DON'T
THINK IT'S JUSTIFIED. THERE ARE PEOPLE WHO ARE GOING
TO SAY, OH, MERRICK GARLAND, WORKS FOR JOE BIDEN, SO MERRICK
GARLAND IS IN THE TANK AND HE'LL DO WHATEVER JOE BIDEN WANTS.
NOT TRUE. BUT MUCH BETTER TO HAVE SOMEONE
WHO'S ACTUALLY AN EXCELLENT LAWYER BUT ALSO A TRUMP
APPOINTEE LOOKING AT THE BIDEN SITUATION.
I THINK THAT'S WHERE WE ARE NOW AND I HOPE PEOPLE CAN LEARN FROM
IT. >> THAT WAS REALLY BACK-TO-BACK
AS IT PERTAINS TO THE BIDEN DOCUMENTS MERRICK GARLAND WENT
OUT OF HIS WAY TO MAKE SURE IT WAS TRUMP APPOINTEES, FIRST OUT
OF CHICAGO AND NOW THE SPECIAL COUNSEL, A TRUMP APPOINTEE AS
WELL. >> I WONDER, THE CHAIR OF THE
HOUSE OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE, JAMES COMER SAYS SUBPOENAS ARE ON THE
TABLE FOR THE BIDEN WHITE HOUSE IN THIS CASE.
IF THAT HAPPENS, YOU WORKED IN THIS WHITE HOUSE, YOU WORKED
UNDER TWO REPUBLICAN ADMINISTRATIONS BUT IF YOU
WORKED IN THIS WHITE HOUSE, WHAT WOULD YOUR ADVICE BE?
>> I THINK IT'S CLEARLY INAPPROPRIATE FOR CONGRESS TO BE
INVESTIGATING AN ONGOING INVESTIGATION -- AN ONGOING
CRIMINAL INVESTIGATION. THEY CAN LOOK AT IT AFTER IT
OCCURS, BUT THEY DON'T HAVE ANY RIGHT.
IT'S REALLY A SEPARATION OF POWERS VIOLATION, TO COME IN IN
THE MIDDLE OF AN ONGOING INVESTIGATION AND TRY TO DISRUPT
IT BY -- I GUESS WHAT THEY WANT TO DO IS MAKE PUBLIC WHAT'S
GOING ON IN THE INVESTIGATION. ONE OF THE VERY SACRED THINGS
ABOUT OUR CRIMINAL PROCESS AND THE INVESTIGATIVE PROCESS THAT
THE DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE ENGAGES IN IS THAT IT'S NOT
SUPPOSED TO PUBLICALLY PILLAR PEOPLE OR FACTS THAT ARE UNDER
INVESTIGATION. THE JOB IS TO INVESTIGATE,
FIGURE OUT WHAT THE FACTS ARE, FIGURE OUT IF THERE'S A CASE TO
BE BROUGHT AND THEN BRING IT AND TALK ABOUT IT.
BUT YOU DON'T DO IT WHILE YOU'RE INVESTIGATING.
SO I THINK ONE WOULD RESIST THE SUBPOENAS WITH REGARD TO THE
ONGOING CRIMINAL INVESTIGATION. >> SO YOU THINK McCARTHY IS
WRONG WHEN HE SAID YESTERDAY ON FOX NEWS THERE'S AN OBLIGATION
FOR CONGRESS TO DO THIS NOW? >> YEAH, WELL, I THINK CERTAINLY
THEY HAVE A RIGHT TO DO OVERSIGHT, CERTAINLY, OF WHAT
THE EXECUTIVE BRANCH IS DOING. BUT THEY DON'T HAVE A RIGHT TO
GET INTO THE SPECIFICS OF AN ONGOING CRIMINAL INVESTIGATION.
I'M AFRAID WHAT WE'RE GOING TO SEE IS, YOU KNOW, REALLY AN
EFFORT THAT'S ENTIRELY AIMED -- TALK ABOUT POLITICIZATION.
IT'S ENTIRELY AIMED AT TRYING TO POLITICIZE THE SITUATION IN A
WAY THEY BELIEVE WILL APPEAL TO FAR RIGHT MAGA REPUBLICAN
SUPPORTERS AND THEY WANT TO STIR UP THAT POT AND IT'S REGRETTABLE
BECAUSE THIS COUNTRY DOESN'T NEED TO HAVE CONTROVERSY AND
CONFLICT STIRRED UP ANY MORE AT THIS POINT.
>> DONALD AYERS THANK YOU FOR TIME THIS MORNING.