(Luis Cornelio, Headline USA) The Biden administration has chosen not to block former President Donald Trump’s access to intelligence briefings, despite initial hesitation to follow the historical precedent of providing national security information to presidential frontrunners.
According to Politico on Thursday, two internal sources implied that allowing Trump to receive these briefings might serve as their white flag to Trump, an attempt to establish trust with him. However, the White House declined to say whether Trump would be allowed to receive such briefings just a day earlier.
Karine Jean-Pierre says Biden still thinks President Trump — now the presumptive Republican nominee — should not be given the traditional intelligence briefings pic.twitter.com/Nl4RDg2uyz
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) March 6, 2024
The initial hesitation stems from the criminal case over Trump’s alleged possession of classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago residence. Notably, this case is being led by Special Counsel Jack Smith, appointed by Attorney General Merrick Garland, a far-left Democrat.
But similar to Trump, President Joe Biden himself became embroiled in a scandal after Special Counsel Robert Hur found evidence indicating that the president “willfully” held classified documents in his residence for years.
Despite the similarities to the Trump case, Biden did not face criminal charges. Prosecutors assumed that during a trial, a jury would show sympathy for Biden due to his alleged failed memory.
The briefings are managed by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence with White House approval immediately after national conventions, Politico added.
This decision follows Biden unilaterally blocking Trump from receiving briefings offered to former presidents, citing Trump’s alleged “erratic behavior” as the reason he should not receive intelligence briefings.
“There’s no need for him to have that intelligence briefing,” Biden claimed in the days after his inauguration in February 2021. “What value is giving him an intelligence briefing? What impact does he have at all, other than the fact that he might slip and say something?”
Asked whether former Pres. Trump should still receive intelligence briefings, Pres. Biden tells no “because of his erratic behavior unrelated to the insurrection.”
Pres. Biden: “What impact does he have at all, other than the fact he might slip and say something?” pic.twitter.com/0PCkQuM0u0
— Norah O’Donnell 🇺🇸 (@NorahODonnell) February 5, 2021
Now, three years later, Biden and Trump are set to face off in the 2024 general election, with several polls indicating that the former president could unseat the incumbent from the White House.
