Stabenow says Biden comments about Trump documents 'embarrassing'

January 16, 2023

Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) called President Joe Biden's comments about former President Donald Trump having classified documents from his presidency at Mar-A-Lago "embarrassing" on Sunday's Meet the Press on NBC.

“It’s embarrassing that you would find a small number of documents, certainly not on purpose. They don’t think it’s the right thing, and they’ve been moving to correct it, working with the Department of Justice, working with everyone involved, with the Archives. So, from my perspective, it’s one of those moments that, obviously, they wish hadn’t happened,” she said, when asked if Biden will have to "eat his words" to Trump.

She said that Biden's documents are a "small number," ostensibly compared to Trump's, and praised Biden for cooperating with the National Archives and the DOJ as they investigate what happened.

Stabenow tried to dance around the question from Chuck Todd about whether the administration was being totally forthcoming about its discoveries.

"How concerned are you that perhaps the White House is holding back information a bit too much, leaving Democrats out there like yourself in the dark on what to defend or not?” Todd asked.

"They take it seriously, and they’re talking to all the right people. They’re not going to defy subpoenas or require FBI raids to get the documents," she said. "Both serious, in terms of having classified documents, but the president is doing the right thing.”