The Biden campaign is worried about "embarrassing" photos surfacing in the media in the coming days and creating problems for Biden's election narrative about Donald Trump.  

Special Counsel Robert Hur is expected to release a report any day now on Biden's mishandling of classified papers.

While no charges are anticipated, Biden's team is worried that bad publicity - including incriminating photo evidence of Biden's carelessness with classified information - could help Trump press his argument that he is the target of selective prosecution.

Biden's classified document scandal

Biden's handling of classified information first drew scrutiny in January of last year, when it was reported that Biden's lawyers had "discovered" classified documents at the Penn Biden Center in November, prior to the 2022 midterm elections.

More documents later turned up at Biden's garage and office in Delaware, where his son, Hunter, would have had access.

"By the way, my Corvette is in a locked garage, so it's not like they're sitting out on the street," Joe Biden said at the time.

The controversy was especially embarrassing because Biden and his allies had vigorously criticized Trump for keeping classified documents at his Mar-A-Lago estate. Biden called Trump "totally irresponsible."

Team Biden worried...

Trump, who is facing charges for withholding classified information, has cited a lack of charges against his rival as proof that the justice system is politicized.

Prosecutors in Trump's case filed photos that showed boxes of documents stored at Mar-A-Lago, including an image of papers splayed on the ground that Trump alleged was "staged" for political effect.

Biden's team is worried that photos from Biden's home could enable Trump to draw parallels between his alleged criminal conduct and Biden's own handling of classified documents.

The photos could cause problems for Biden's general election narrative, which has centered on the notion that Trump is a uniquely dangerous threat to "our democracy."

Double standard?

Biden's defenders have insisted that Biden's case is different because he was cooperative with investigators from the beginning.

But Republicans have raised questions about the timeline given by Biden attorneys.

Although Biden's lawyers claim the documents were initially "discovered" in November of 2022, White House staff and Biden's personal lawyers spent months beforehand looking for classified documents.

Trump's classified documents case is tentatively scheduled in May at a Miami courthouse, but delays are expected.