Last week, The Hill says, Biden was asked about (in its words) “people who defy subpoenas from the committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol,” an obvious reference to Steve Bannon (image left).
Biden replied, “I hope that the committee goes after them and holds them accountable criminally,” and added they should be prosecuted by the Justice Department.
Today, during a CNN townhall, he backtracked. “The way I said it was not appropriate,” he said. “I should have chosen my words more wisely.”
Then he clarified that it’s the Justice Department’s decision, and he wouldn’t interfere, trying to draw a contrast between himself and Trump. (Read story here.) That, of course, is the right course of action.
Decisions to bring criminal charges should be made objectively, by professional prosecutors, without political interference — one of the countless things about governing that Trump doesn’t understand or respect.
What Biden apparently was trying to say is congressional subpoenas should be respected, and he should have said it that way. Instead, he tripped over his tongue again.
He has a history of making gaffes, and in the present overheated partisan atmosphere, Republicans won’t miss any opportunity to criticize him if he does. This time, apparently, he sought to head them off at the pass by admitting he made one and correcting the record. That’s something Trump wouldn’t do, and has never done.
Presidents can’t speak casually or off the cuff. Their every word makes headline news. A wrong word, or choice of words, could have serious consequences. That’s why their speeches are painstakingly scripted by speechwriters and aides. It’s also why, within minutes have the townhall ended, White House aides were walking back another Biden remark — this one during the townhall — this time “to hedge on Biden’s pledges … to protect Taiwan in the event of a Chinese incursion,” which isn’t U.S. policy.
“That walking back reflects Biden’s tendency to go beyond administration policy — only to have aides hedge,” CNN said (here).
What to make of a president who frequently sticks his foot in his mouth and has to be corrected?
I think I’d rather have that than one who doesn’t know right from wrong, doesn’t care, and never admits error or takes corrective action.
There were a number of people who believed and stated that things were going to boil on January 6. So that statement is rhetoric. Not proof he knows anything or was even involved. Any decent prosecutor should get a grand jury to indict, but it will not be in DC, has to be where Bannon resides. Draw the wrong judge and this could go south in a hurry. The second part of the dance is where Bannon goes in front of the committee and takes the 5th. Is it advisable to make this man a martyr?
Keep your eye on the ball. The charge is contempt of Congress. The offense is defying its subpoena. The issue is whether he has a proper legal excuse, such as a valid claim of executive privilege. What he knows, would say, or invoking the 5A isn’t relevant until he appears before the committee; it’s premature to talk about that now.