When classified documents were reported to have been found in his former office in Washington, US President Joe Biden said he was “surprised” and told reporters he didn’t know what they contained.
(Bloomberg) — When classified documents were reported to have been found in his former office in Washington, US President Joe Biden said he was “surprised” and told reporters he didn’t know what they contained.
But the revelation that more secret papers have been found in a separate location piles pressure onto Biden and the White House to adequately explain what’s gone wrong. Here’s everything we know so far about the discoveries, and what might happen next.
Where have classified files been found?
First, attorneys for Biden discovered classified documents in a locked closet just ahead of the November midterms, when they were packing up the Penn Biden Center, a Washington think-tank office he used after serving as vice president. The documents were turned over to the National Archives within a few hours.
Aides for Biden then launched a search for more records, and on Dec. 20 discovered what the White House described as “a small number” of additional classified documents at the garage at Biden’s home in Wilmington, Delaware.Biden’s team then found a final document with classified markings on Wednesday, in what Biden described as his “personal library” at his Wilmington house. Aides also searched his residence in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, but didn’t find any classified material.
What did the classified files contain?
It’s unclear. Biden himself said he was “surprised” to learn about the first discovery at the Penn Biden office, and that he didn’t know it included. CNN has reported that Biden’s attorneys turned over 10 documents with classified markings in the first batch, some of which were labeled with the highest level of government classification. The material included information about Iran and Ukraine. The White House has declined to confirm that report and has provided no details about the documents found at Biden’s Wilmington home.
What have Biden and the White House said?
The White House has espoused confidence that a review will show the classified materials were “inadvertently misplaced, and the president and his lawyers acted promptly upon discovery of this mistake.” The documents, which were discovered among personal and political papers, have been returned to the Department of Justice.
Biden also defended his handling of the material after a reporter asked why he stored the documents near his vintage Corvette.
“My Corvette’s in a locked garage, so it’s not like it’s sitting out on the street,” Biden responded.
The White House has also pledged to continue to cooperate with investigations into the issue.
But White House officials haven’t explained why they didn’t disclose the Washington office discovery before the midterm elections, or the Wilmington documents earlier this week when the media reported on the initial discovery.
READ MORE: Biden’s classified-document headache worsens with second batch
What’s Donald Trump saying about Biden’s predicament?
Predictably, the former president was quick to pounce on the revelations after earlier FBI raids on his Mar-a-Lago estate turned up a trove of classified documents, which Biden blasted as “totally irresponsible.” Trump, who is currently under criminal investigation by the Justice Department, posted on his Truth Social platform: “Why didn’t the ‘Justice’ Department announce the Highly Classified documents found in the Biden Office before the Election?” He also posed the question: “When is the FBI going to raid the many homes of Joe Biden, perhaps even the White House?”
What happens next?
Attorney General Merrick Garland announced Thursday he was appointing a special counsel — veteran prosecutor Robert Hur — to investigate the president’s handling of the document.
Hur will examine “the possible unauthorized removal and retention of classified documents or other records discovered,” Garland said.House Speaker Kevin McCarthy on Thursday called for a congressional inquiry into the matter, and top GOP lawmakers have already moved to do so. House Intelligence Committee Chairman Mike Turner, an Ohio Republican, has asked the Director of National Intelligence to undertake a damage assessment reviewing whether Biden’s possession and storage of the material may have compromised national security matters. Turner has also asked that the intelligence community brief his committee on the issue.
House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, a Kentucky Republican, said his committee also planned to investigate Biden’s handling of classified documents.
Congressional interest in the incident has proven bipartisan, even though most Democrats have praised Biden for reportedly turning over the documents quickly. Senate Intelligence Chairman Mark Warner, a Virginia Democrat, has said he want his committee to be briefed on the matter.
What is a special counsel?A special counsel is an independent attorney outside the Justice Department’s regular chain of command, appointed in extraordinary circumstances when there is the appearance of a conflict of interest. The person must still follow Justice Department regulations, but can only be removed from the post for misconduct. The administration must also provide Congress information about certain events related to a special counsel.A special counsel was also appointed to oversee investigations into Trump’s role in the Jan. 6, 2021 insurrection at the Capitol, as well as his own holding of classified records at his Mar-a-Lago estate. During Trump’s administration, special counsel Robert Mueller investigated Russian electoral interference and links to the Trump campaign. Mueller ultimately did not find evidence that Trump had directed collusion with Russia.
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