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Ex-CIA Officer: Is Special Counsel Probe of Biden Docs a ‘Real Inquiry’ or Cover-Up Device?

© AP Photo / Carolyn KasterThis April 13, 2016 file photo shows the seal of the Central Intelligence Agency at CIA headquarters in Langley, Va.
This April 13, 2016 file photo shows the seal of the Central Intelligence Agency at CIA headquarters in Langley, Va.  - Sputnik International, 1920, 13.01.2023
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WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - The impact of the newly-launched special counsel probe of President Joe Biden's mishandling of classified documents will depend on whether the investigation is a real inquiry or a mechanism for covering up any potential wrongdoing, former CIA officer Phil Giraldi told Sputnik.
Earlier in the day, US Attorney General Merrick Garland named Robert Hur as special counsel to investigate Biden's mishandling of classified government documents. The records, which stem from Biden's tenure as vice president, were found in his private office at a Washington-based think tank and his home in Delaware.
Biden's lawyers earlier this week said they found a set of documents at the Penn Biden Center, which sparked a more exhaustive search. On Thursday, Biden himself confirmed that his lawyers uncovered more classified documents in file cabinets in his personal library.
"[The impact] depends on whether it is a true investigation or just a mechanism for delaying any real inquiry and covering up any possible malfeasance," Giraldi said when asked how the developments might affect Biden politically.
In addition, Giraldi asked how anyone could trust Garland, a Biden appointee who is also in charge of a probe into classified documents uncovered at former President Donald Trump's Florida estate.
Marine One, with US President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden aboard, departs from the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, DC, as they travel to spend the weekend in Wilmington, Delaware. File photo. - Sputnik International, 1920, 12.01.2023
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Biden Says Classified Docs Found in Cabinets, Library, Next to His Corvette at His Delaware Home
Biden, he added, is unlikely to face any serious consequences because the press will eventually ignore the story.
"The mainstream media is already describing the revelation as not comparable to the Trump problem with documents," Giraldi said. "The story itself will soon disappear from sight."
The former US intelligence official also speculated as to why Biden absconded with the highly sensitive files in the first place.
"Presumably Biden was accumulating documents to enable him to write a memoir autobiography of some sort," he added. "Pathetic."
Hur was a top aide to then-deputy attorney general Rod Rosenstein, who oversaw the appointment of special counsel Robert Mueller during the Russia probe. He was appointed by Trump to serve as US Attorney for the District of Maryland from 2018-2021.
Congressman Paul Gosar earlier on Thursday told Sputnik Republican lawmakers will investigate the incidents and blasted Democrats for seeming to "care less" about Biden stealing secret government records. Gosar also said that negligently retaining classified documents is a felony punishable up to 10 years in prison.
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