Edward Snowden believes that President Joe Biden possessing classified documents isn't the "real scandal." Instead, he accused the Department of Justice (DOJ) of suppressing the information during the midterm elections.
Snowden's tweet came after former President Donald Trump repeatedly slammed the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) for contributing to what he believes is a stolen election. A raid was conducted on Trump's Mar-A-Lago estate in August, when classified documents were discovered, and now people are wondering if the Obama-era classified documents discovered at an office used by Biden should lead to a similar investigation into the president.
Snowden, a former contractor with the CIA who leaked classified information of internet and phone surveillance conducted by the National Security Agency (NSA), targeted the DOJ's role in the suppressing the information release about the Biden documents.
The real scandal isn't that Biden had classified documents coming out of his socks, because sadly they've all been doing it.
— Edward Snowden (@Snowden) January 12, 2023
The scandal is that the DOJ found out about it a week prior to the midterm elections and chose to suppress the story, conferring a partisan advantage. https://t.co/Zgx5FEpPeH
"The real scandal isn't that Biden had classified documents coming out of his socks, because sadly they've all been doing it," Snowden tweeted. "The scandal is that the DOJ found out about it a week prior to the midterm elections and chose to suppress the story, conferring a partisan advantage."
Snowden's tweet came after Trump posted a video on Truth Social calling for Congress to investigate the FBI regarding its alleged involvement in censoring certain voices, usually from conservatives, on Twitter. Trump said recent news reports and information from the Twitter Files showed that former FBI officials later worked as high-ranking executives at Twitter.
Trump said that if he is reelected in 2024, he would require a seven-year cooling-off period before any FBI or similar government officials could work at Twitter or other social media companies. He cited the Twitter Files as proof of the FBI's involvement in censoring speech during the 2020 election.
Since tech tycoon Elon Musk has taken ownership of Twitter, most of the banned accounts have been reinstated.
Snowden has tweeted several times on the classified documents found in Biden's office, noting that Biden and other officials like Trump have "absconded" with classified documents, whereas whistleblowers leaking similar information have been severely punished.
Snowden, who fled the U.S. to escape espionage charges, mentioned Reality Winner, a former U.S. Air Force member and NSA translator who leaked an intelligence report about Russian interference in the 2016 election, was sentenced to more than five years in federal prison for her actions.
"Meanwhile Biden, Trump, Clinton, Petraeus... these guys have dozens, hundreds," Snowden tweeted. "No jail."
Trump recently asked Congress to launch an investigation into the FBI. He slighted the FBI and said that by working with Twitter, the FBI was able to suppress negative news about Biden during the 2020 election while publishing negative news regarding Trump and silencing conservative voices.
Newsweek reached out to the DOJ for comment.
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
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