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Joe Biden made illegal “garbage” move?

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The backlash of President Joe Biden calling supporters of Donald Trump “garbage” this week is spreading faster than a wildfire, with folks on both sides of the political aisle upset with the off-the-cuff comment.

Unfortunately for Biden, his unhinged remark wasn’t just tacky. It may have violated a federal law according to a group of top Republicans.

According to a Daily Wire report, House Republicans announced yesterday they intend to open an investigation into how the White House handled Biden calling Trump‘s supporters “garbage” during remarks to a Latino voting group.

In a letter to White House Counsel Edward Siskel, House GOP Conference Chairwoman Elise Stefanik (R-NY) and Oversight Chairman James Comer (R-KY) said the White House may have violated federal law by releasing a “false transcript” of Biden’s remarks while seeking to boost the campaign of Trump’s 2024 rival in the White House race, Vice President Kamala Harris.

They allege that Biden’s team violated the The Presidential Records Act (PRA), which is a federal law that governs the creation, maintenance, and preservation of presidential and vice presidential records.

“Americans were rightfully insulted when President Biden, seeking to boost Ms. Harris’s presidential campaign, referred to an enormous swath of the country as ‘floating … garbage.’ President Biden’s vindictive words were unsurprising, given his previous statements regarding people who choose not to vote for his preferred candidate. Unsurprising too were the White House’s actions after he said them. Instead of apologizing or clarifying President Biden’s words, the White House instead sought to change them (despite them being recorded on video) by releasing a false transcript of his remarks. The move is not only craven, but it also appears to be in violation of federal law, including the Presidential Records Act of 1978,” they wrote.

“White House staff cannot rewrite the words of the President of the United States to be more politically on message,” Stefanik and Comer added. “Though President Biden’s relevance continues to diminish, his words continue to matter, even as they become increasingly divisive and erratic. We write to demand the White House retain and preserve all documents and internal communications regarding President Biden’s statement and the release of the inaccurate transcript. We also demand that the White House issue a corrected transcript with the accurate words.”

The entirety of the letter can be found here.

On Tuesday Biden said: “The only garbage I see floating out there is his supporters. His demonization of Latinos is unconscionable, and it’s un-American. It’s totally contrary to everything we’ve done, everything we’ve been.”

There is documented video footage of his remarks here.

However, shortly thereafter, the White House released a transcript that contained a different quote: “The only garbage I see floating out there is his supporter’s — his — his demonization of Latinos is unconscionable, and it’s un-American. It’s totally contrary to everything we’ve done, everything we’ve been.”

According to the report, journalist Michael Shellenberger was one of the first to publicly respond to the potential federal tampering saying on X:

“The Presidential Records Act prohibits altering official transcripts, which is what the White House did. And the alteration makes no sense. The White House is now claiming Biden was referring to the racism of Trump’s supporters, but the transcript refers to ‘his supporter’s.’”

About the Author

Cory Templeman is an experienced writer and researcher who has worked with some of the biggest names in the publishing business. Cory lives in South Carolina with his wife and three kids.