Sen. Tim Kaine: Biden Investigation 'Is Necessary'; Manchin: 'Unbelievable How This Could Happen'

(CNSNews.com) – Add Senators Tim Kaine and Joe Manchin to the list of Democrats who say that Joe Biden’s alleged mishandling of classified documents is inexplicable and must be investigated:

“How does a senator accidentally take classified material home?” Margaret Brennan, host of CBS’s “Face the Nation,” asked Sen. Kaine of Virginia:

“Margaret, I don’t really know the answer to that question, because I – I review classified material as a senator on the Armed Services and Foreign Relations Committees, but when I do it, it’s always in a classified facility where I don’t have access to the materials other than to sit there and read them,” Kaine said:

“So, that’s why there needs to be this independent investigation and independent prosecutor. How many documents are we talking about? Dozens? A handful or hundreds? How serious are they? Why were they taken? Did anyone have access to them?

“And then, is the president being cooperative? And I think by all accounts it suggests that, yes, of course he’s being cooperative, as – as anyone should be. But these are the reasons why this independent prosecutor and an investigation is necessary.”

Kaine also noted that the federal government “has a tendency to over-classify.”

“If they are looking at a document and they have to analyze to decide whether to classify, sometimes they just mark it classified, I’ll read it in the SCIF [sensitive compartmented information facility] and say, ‘Margaret was reporting on that a month ago,’ or ‘The Washington Post has been telling me this for the last six months.’

“So, you do have to see, what’s the scope, how serious, did anyone have access? And those questions have to be answered before, you know, we decide, is this — how significant an issue is this?”

‘Totally irresponsible’

Sen. Manchin of West Virginia told CNN’s “State of the Union” on Sunday he supports an independent investigation of Biden:

“It’s unbelievable how this could happen. It’s totally irresponsible,” Manchin said.

“And who’s at fault? But, with that being said, putting it in a political kangaroo court is not going to help.

“What it should be done is exactly what [Attorney General] Merrick Garland did. Put the special counsel. Let’s wait and see. You know, some people are taking sides. OK, it was more egregious than what President Trump did than what President Biden did. And maybe that’s true. I don’t know. Maybe it’s not true. Let’s find out.

“I’m willing to find out from the people that are looking at it, finding all these different documents, and looking at the classifications, and if it’s harmful, could have been harmful, or was it harmful, and make determinations.”

Bash asked Manchin if the discovery of classified documents in Biden’s possession, in various unsecured locations, should affect his decision to run for re-election:

“Well, he has to make — that’s a personal decision with him and his family, you know?” Manchin said.

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