Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), who chaired the House Intelligence Committee until this month, said that there were classified documents found in the office of President Joe Biden and the front may have risked US national security.
“I don’t think we can rule that possibility out without knowing more about the facts,” Schiff told ABC’s “This Week.” He added that the appointment of Attorney General Merrick Garland as special counsel to lead the investigation was appropriate.
The White House on Saturday announced that more documents than previously disclosed were found at Biden’s Delaware home, six in total. Biden’s lawyers in November found 10 classified documents in the Washington office that Biden used as vice president.
Schiff said Congress should accept the intelligence community’s assessment of the documents in the same way that lawmakers have requested a review of classified government files found in former President Donald Trump’s Florida estate.
“I want to know what this document is,” Schiff said. “I want to know what [intelligence community’s] Assessment is, whether there is a risk of exposure and what harm will be done and what mitigation should be done. I think it’s appropriate and consistent with what’s being asked in the Mar-a-Lago case.
Attorney General Merrick Garland on Thursday appointed special counsel Robert Hur to investigate the Biden documents.
“The Attorney General must ensure that not only justice is applied evenly, but the appearance of justice is also satisfactory for the public. And here, I don’t think they have any choice but to appoint a special counsel,” Schiff told ABC’s Jonathan Karl.
Schiff stressed that Biden’s reaction to the discovery was very different from Trump’s. The White House said Biden was cooperating with the Justice Department and the National Archives, without trying to obstruct the investigation.
“All of that is in stark contrast to Donald Trump’s handling of the situation,” Schiff said.
The FBI executed a search warrant at Trump’s home in August after the former president failed to comply with requests to turn over files taken from the White House. A different Justice Department special counsel is conducting a criminal investigation into Trump’s handling of the material.
House Republicans have vowed to investigate Biden’s documents, and have requested visitor logs for Biden’s Delaware home since January 2021. Schiff noted that the request by House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.) ignores Trump’s ownership of the larger document. .
“I think Congress needs to be consistent here and take the same approach,” Schiff said. “I don’t think we should do anything that is intentional to interfere with the work of the Department of Justice.”