This might seem unnecessary to say, but tending to a reputation - whether personal or corporate - is like an insurance policy to protect against future scrutiny.
The difference between going out of your way to behave decently and with professionalism vs. selfishly and with disregard for the norms of polite society is on full display now in the twin - very public - investigations of President Biden and former President Donald Trump.
Both men are the subject of separate special counsel investigations into their handling of classified government documents found in their possession. We don’t know all the details of either case, but it is fair to say that in both cases the documents in question should have been in the hands of the U.S. government. As far as we know they should have been in secure locations.
The manner is which these cases are likely to play out over the next few weeks and months is predictable. The conclusions will vary to a great extent on the public reputations of the two men involved.
Before the Biden case was made public, few legal analysts looking at the facts of the Trump documents case saw any possibility the former president would escape federal charges. The most likely charge being obstruction. At least in the news media, the Biden matter has muddied the case against Trump.
Trump’s public reputation as someone who cuts corners, mis-uses the courts, and whose default position is conflict means in most cases he is not granted the benefit of the doubt. His motives are always suspect. His reputation requires prosecutors and many others to assume the worst about him. There is still a high probability he will be charged with a federal crime by the end 2023.
No one seriously expects President Biden to be sanctioned in any way as a result of the investigation into the secret documents that appear to have been in his possession(setting aside the Justice Department policy of not indicting a sitting president).
Since the 1970s, Biden has worked tirelessly to build a reputation for honesty, decency and hard work. You may disagree with him on issues, but very few people see him as untrustworthy. His reputation earns him almost every benefit of the doubt.
While Trump’s reputation and his public remarks about his case demonstrate clear intent to flout the law, Biden’s reputation and behavior since the news broke, leads most people to believe there has to be a reasonable explanation for why he would have had classified documents in his possession.
Bottom Line: When it comes to public affairs you can never be certain how tending to your public reputation will help you in the future, but it is never a bad investment. When everything is on the line, a good reputation is like a protective cloak that can make all the difference in the outcome.