After it was revealed that Biden had stored classified documents from his days as vice president in multiple locations, members of the chattering class immediately went into spin mode. Many in the activist media attempted to shield the president from criticism and are now trying to convince their audiences that Trump’s offense was somehow different. The fact that Attorney General Merrick Garland’s DOJ moved to protect the president and Democratic candidates did not seem to faze them.

But what is not being discussed is the reality that our classification system is deeply flawed, which means these issues are going to continue coming up. NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden posted a tweet in which he proposed a solution to this problem:

One way of resolving all these secret-document scandals is to acknowledge that after 75 years of experimentation, the chief accomplishment of the “classification system” has been to make our government less trustworthy and our country less free.

Abolish and reform it. All of it.

One way of resolving all these secret-document scandals is to acknowledge that after 75 years of experimentation, the chief accomplishment of the "classification system" has been to make our government less trustworthy and our country less free.

Abolish and reform it. All of it.

— Edward Snowden (@Snowden) January 14, 2023

Snowden also compared the current scandal to that of other whistleblowers, noting that Reality Winner, another former NSA contractor, was given a five-year sentence for leaking “just one document” related to Russian interference in the 2016 election.

Worth noting that the President seems to have absconded with more classified documents than many whistleblowers. For comparison, Reality Winner was sentenced to 5 YEARS for just one document.

Meanwhile Biden, Trump, Clinton, Petraeus… these guys have dozens, hundreds. No jail.

— Edward Snowden (@Snowden) January 11, 2023

Snowden is right – this is a problem. It wouldn’t be beyond the realm of belief to suggest that if any former president in recent memory were investigated, it would probably be revealed that they kept classified documents in their possession as well. Perhaps if we are not going to drain the swamp anytime soon, it might be a good idea to clarify how secret documents are to be handled going forward?

Of course it would be a good idea. But it will never happen.

This situation, just like others dealing with the myriad of problems in our federal government, will never be addressed simply because nobody wants to fix it. After all, why solve a problem when you can just politicize it? It is far easier to simply use the problem to score cheap political points, isn’t it?

One of the most troubling parts of American politics in the 21^st century is that people only care about wrongdoing when it’s the other “team” doing it. When it was reported that President Trump still possessed classified documents, the left went berserk.

Members of the activist media were frothing at the mouth at the prospect that he might be facing an indictment for this horrendous crime. Multiple op-eds were written speculating that he had nuclear information that he might plan to sell to Russia or China. For the most part, conservatives and Republicans blew it off, pointing out that the FBI’s search of Trump’s home at Mar-a-Lago was politically motivated – and they probably weren’t wrong.

But now that the proverbial shoe is on the other foot, Democrats suddenly had a change of heart on classified documents. The press is downplaying Biden’s offense, claiming it was a mistake and that it was not as egregious as his predecessor. Never mind the fact that Biden had documents in three different locations while Trump’s documents were only in one area.

Hyperpartisanship has become so pronounced that it has essentially paralyzed those who truly want solutions. Nowadays, people are more concerned about protecting their team than about addressing the issues in our government and society. Until this changes, America will continue going in the wrong direction.