There’s this old saying about not worrying about the mote in another’s eye before seeing to the plank in one’s own. It’s a warning that all too often applies to politicians and, frankly, to many people who make their living working with and writing/talking about politicians. Partisan politics just seems to bring that out in people, and that’s probably inevitable.

That applies to some in the legacy media’s reaction to President-elect Donald Trump’s once more receiving classified briefings. He’s receiving those briefings, of course, because he’s the President-elect, like it or not, and on Day One he will be once more the American head of state, Commander-in-Chief of the military, and oh, by the way, the guy with nuclear weapons release authority – so it seems a good idea that he has a firm grasp of the state of the planet before he resumes his seat at the Resolute Desk.

Some folks don’t see it quite that way.

Biden previously called Trump’s handling of Top Secret documents “totally irresponsible.” And during his first term, Trump raised alarms in the intelligence community when he reportedly shared secrets of a close U.S. ally with senior Russian officials during an Oval Office meeting. In the interim, federal officials charged Trump with violating the Espionage Act for unauthorized retention of national defense information, a case that is now likely to be closed in the coming weeks.

But Biden has directed his entire Administration to work with Trump’s team to ensure an “orderly” transition. That means looking past Trump’s previous history with classified information. […]