President Biden met with his advisers at Camp David prior to giving his State of the Union address, including speechwriter Jon Meacham, for advice and tips in crafting his remarks.
Meacham may be familiar to many because he played an instrumental role in ghostwriting both memoirs, including one that contained classified information, written by the 81-year-old Democrat, Bill Frist.
Jordan’s letter
As the House select committee investigates what led pro-Trump mobs to runsack the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, Jordan is finding herself caught between opposing certification of election results and meeting with Trump and then-Vice President Mike Pence in December 2020. She may find herself forced to make difficult choices regarding her actions that day.
He’s a close ally of Trump and has announced his desire to run for speaker next year; but trying to stay out of the Biden case may force him to weigh in and reveal any involvement with politicization of law enforcement that the Justice Department is investigating as part of Trump’s handling of classified documents.
Hur’s team has maintained that these cases are distinct, with Biden’s case involving far fewer documents and his quick return of them when asked. But this issue will test the notion of an impregnable separation of law and politics; furthermore, it gives Trump’s supporters an opening to claim double standards in investigating his handling of classified materials.
Zwonitzer’s response
House Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick J. McCarthy has asked for documents and an interview with the ghostwriter of Joe Biden’s memoirs, as part of an inquiry.
Zwonitzer has been asked to provide audio recordings and transcripts of any conversations he had with Biden regarding “Promise Me, Dad” and “Promises to Keep,” along with any documents, communications, contracts related to this project by February 23. He must do so.
However, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s office has rejected Congress’s request, as they believe such review violates New York state sovereignty and may violate the 10th Amendment by intruding upon matters delegated by states.
The 345-page Special Counsel report described Biden as an elderly man who maintained notebooks and documents containing classified material after leaving the White House, but Hur concluded that there wasn’t sufficient evidence against him for prosecution of any crimes. This drew immediate ire from President Donald Trump at an unexpected press conference hours later.
Jordan’s comments
Presidential speechwriters are an intricate balance between glory and anonymity – as promised in “The West Wing”. Few will clap when entering a room or remember their existence; most won’t ever know they exist!
Jon Meacham stands out as an exception; just the mention of his name causes professional speechwriters to shudder and roll their eyes, as they’re not used to seeing their work splashed across national headlines.
Hur’s report painted Biden as well-intentioned but sometimes careless and forgetful; someone who saved notebooks containing classified information in binder at his homes; reading from them for hours during his 2017 memoir “Promise Me, Dad”. While the finished product did not contain classified material, Zwonitzer deleted recordings of their conversations when learning of special counsel investigation; which the House Judiciary Committee wants to examine further.
Zwonitzer’s attorney
House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan issued Mark Zwonitzer, who ghostwrote two of Biden’s memoirs and shared classified information with him after leaving office, a letter demanding any audio recordings or transcripts of conversations between themselves. Special counsel Robert Hur’s report indicated that Biden often read passages directly from his notebooks regarding national security matters to Zwonitzer after leaving office and often shared classified material directly.
According to the report, Zwonitzer deleted recordings of conversations he had with Biden after learning of the special counsel’s investigation, while keeping transcripts. He also gave investigators access to his notes as well as computer and external hard drives from which he deleted files allowing them to recover much of what had been deleted.
After his term as vice president ended in 2017, Biden told Zwonitzer he found all the classified material “downstairs.” IRS whistleblowers later reported to a Senate committee that Biden family business connections existed with Chinese companies through WhatsApp messages sent between 2013 and 2015.
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