(Ken Silva, Headline USA) Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., was scrutinized during an event Monday for rolling back banking regulations in 2018 and accepting more than $27,000 in campaign donations from the now-failed Silicon Valley Bank.
Warner downplayed the significance of both the SVB donations and the regulatory rollbacks, turning the attention to the long-running Trump-Biden-Pence classified documents fiasco.
Warner reportedly said the Biden administration’s refusal to release key details behind President Biden’s mishandling of classified documents to lawmakers “doesn’t pass the smell test.”
“The administration’s position is untenable,” Warner said, according to the Washington Times. “If there was a violation made by President Trump, President Biden or Vice President Pence about the mishandling of documents, that ought to be pursued … I’m concerned not only about the documents, but what has been done, if anything, to mitigate [their mishandling].”
Warner’s comments represent a rarity: a Democrat senator criticizing his own party’s leader. The remarks could be explained by the fact that he faces reelection next year in Virgina, which has trended conservative in recent years—as shown by the victory of Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin in 2021.
Monday wasn’t the first time Warner criticized Biden’s handling of the classified documents matter. The senator questioned senior intelligence officials at a March 8 hearing as to why his Senate Intelligence Committee hasn’t had the chance to review the documents in question.
“We still have unfinished business regarding classified documents that we need to see in order for this committee to effectively [perform] its job on intelligence oversight,” he told FBI Director Christopher Wray and National Intelligence Director Avril Haines.
Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., also spoke about the classified documents scandal during the March 8 hearing. Cotton’s line of questioning revealed that neither Wray nor Haines have even fully reviewed the records.
“Why have you not reviewed all? It seems to be a matter of vital urgency to make a determination if there actually is a national security risk here,” the senator said.
Haines replied that it’s her policy to never review records, even when their contents “have significant consequences.” Instead, she has “subject-matter experts” review the records and draft reports for her, she said.
Wray made similar remarks, though he said he’s reviewed some of the documents.
“We’re all frustrated we haven’t even had these documents characterized to us,” Cotton told Wray and Haines. “Our patience is starting to run out. The stonewalling needs to stop.”
Ken Silva is a staff writer at Headline USA. Follow him at twitter.com/jd_cashless.
