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The FBI conducted a planned search Wednesday of President Joe Biden’s second Delaware home in Rehoboth Beach as part of an investigation into the possible mishandling of classified documents, the president’s personal attorney said.
The search for the home facing the state park follows a 13-hour, top-to-bottom review of the Wilmington, Del., home on Jan. 20.
There, agents found additional documents with classified markings and also took some of Biden’s handwritten notes.
The president voluntarily allowed the Justice Department to enter his home as investigators is trying to determine how classified documents from Biden´s time as vice president and senator were in his home and office.
The investigation follows the discovery on November 2 of documents marked confidential by Biden’s attorneys while closing offices at the Penn Biden Center, a think-tank affiliated with the Ivy League school.
Documents were also found at his Wilmington home by his personal attorney, who began the search after the Penn Biden Center documents were discovered.
The FBI also searched the Penn Biden Center in November after the initial discovery of documents there, a person familiar with the matter told The Associated Press on Tuesday.
“In accordance with standard DOJ procedures, in the interest of security and operational integrity, they are seeking to conduct this work without public notice, and we have agreed to cooperate,” said a statement from Biden’s lawyer, Bob Bauer.
It is unclear if more documents were found
“Today’s search is a further step in a thorough and timely DOJ process, which we will continue to support and facilitate. We will have more information on the conclusion of the search today.”
An FBI spokeswoman referred comment to the Justice Department. A spokeswoman there did not immediately return a message seeking comment. It is unclear whether any additional classified documents were found.
The investigation into the Biden documents is being handled by the special counsel, Robert Hur, the former top federal prosecutor in Baltimore. He began work this week, taking advantage of a months-long investigation by FBI agents and Justice Department prosecutors.
The Bidens bought the house in June 2017, a few months after he left the vice presidency.
In January, the U.S. National Archives asked former U.S. presidents and vice presidents to review their personal records for classified documents following news that President Joe Biden and former vice president Mike Pence had the documents.
The Archives sent letters to former vice presidents and vice presidents returning to Ronald Reagan to ensure compliance with the Presidential Records Act (PRA), according to a copy obtained by The Associated Press.
The Act states that records created or received by the president are the property of the US government and will be maintained by the Archives at the end of the administration.
Biden’s lawyers discovered secret documents from his time as vice president in a locked cabinet while packing up his unused office in November 2022.
Since then, subsequent searches by the FBI and Biden’s lawyers have produced more documents.
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