Investigation? Review? Biden faces a messaging dilemma

By CHRIS MEGERIAN and ERIC TUCKER
Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — When Hillary Clinton was running for president in 2016, she and her campaign called the FBI’s scrutiny of her private email server a “security review.” It was euphemistic terminology that glossed over what was really happening: an active criminal investigation. Last week, when the White House first acknowledged the discovery of classified documents at President Joe Biden’s former office, it said it was cooperating with the Justice Department. But it did not mention that the FBI had two months earlier begun assessing whether any laws were broken. It’s a rhetorical dance done for years by political figures, including presidents, as they balance a need for transparency with a desire to cast criminal probes in the least ominous light.