Classified documents found in garage at Biden’s Delaware residence

Classified documents from US President Joe Biden’s time as vice president were found at his home in Delaware, the White House said Thursday, days after it was announced that sensitive documents were also found in the offices of the former Washington institution.

Richard Sauber, the president’s special counsel, said that after the initial documents were discovered by Biden’s personal attorney, he was looking at other locations where they may have been sent after Biden left the vice presidency in 2017.

Sauber said a “small number” of classified documents were found in a storage area in Biden’s garage in Wilmington, with one document in an adjacent room.

Sauber said the Justice Department was “immediately notified” after the documents were discovered and department attorneys seized the records.

Earlier this week, the White House confirmed that the department was reviewing “a small number of classified documents” at the Penn Biden Center in Washington. Biden maintained an office there after he left the vice presidency in 2017 until shortly before launching his 2019 presidential campaign.

Biden’s lawyers found the material in the Penn Biden Center office and immediately called the National Archives about the discovery, the White House said.

Important questions remain, including the exact content and number of records, how they got to the center and why they remain there.

Biden said the garage was locked

Biden said he was “shocked to learn that there were government records brought into the office” but that the lawyers “did what they had to do” when they immediately called the National Archives.

He reiterated his stance on Thursday after making brief comments on the latest inflation report. He acknowledged that secret tapes were found in his “personal library,” and said the White House would cooperate fully with any investigation.

Regarding the garage, Biden said it was locked.

Some Republicans have been outraged that the discovery of documents in Washington’s office was known before the midterm elections but was not disclosed to the public.

The Justice Department has been investigating former president Donald Trump over the retention of classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago, Florida estate, which has led to a grand jury investigation and has been handed over to a special counsel.

Democrats in recent days have rejected claims by Republicans that there was a double standard in the handling of the case. Republicans have characterized the search of the Trump estate in August as a “raid,” even though a federal judge signed off on the search warrant and Secret Service agents in Florida were reportedly advised ahead of the search.

House Republicans have pledged to investigate what they call the “weaponization” of the federal government, with a particular focus on the FBI and the IRS. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy said there is an example of “treating the law differently based on political beliefs.”

Garland was about to speak

Biden’s revelations could complicate the Justice Department’s consideration of whether to prosecute Trump.

Trump representatives have for months refused requests from the National Archives to produce all the documents. Even after officials of the Department of Justice last spring issued a subpoena for classified records and visited Mar-a-Lago, associates of the former president failed to provide all the documents, it has been alleged by federal officials.

Some Republicans have called for a special counsel, but that role is usually only seen when criminal activity is suspected. In cases involving officials in the month where the documents returned to the Archives are late or not handled correctly, not all incidents lead to criminal investigations.

For example, the report of the inspector general of the Department of Justice in 2008 revealed that the former attorney general of the Republic Alberto Gonzales for some time had several documents called “sensitive compartment information” (SCI) in two cabinets in his office – not considered as designated. SCI facility – also in Virginia’s place.

No charges were ultimately filed in the case.

It has been reported by several US media outlets that federal prosecutors, previously appointed by Trump, are looking into the Biden issue.

Attorney General Merrick Garland is scheduled to make a rare public statement at 1:15 pm ET, although the Justice Department has not confirmed the matter.