Classified documents were discovered just before the midterm elections at a personal office used by President Joe Biden when he was vice president, according to reports.
CBS broke the news that Biden’s attorneys found around 10 documents Nov. 2 at the Penn Biden Center for Diplomacy and Global Engagement in Washington D.C. According to sources cited by the outlet, Attorney General Merrick Garland has assigned the U.S. attorney in Chicago, Ill. to review documents.
That U.S. attorney, John Lausch Jr., was appointed by former President Donald Trump in 2017, per CNN. CBS said the Federal Bureau of Investigation is also involved in the inquiry. People who hold federal offices are required to return official documents when their term ends.
Richard Sauber, special counsel to the president, confirmed that the documents were discovered as Biden’s personal attorneys “were packing files housed in a locked closet to prepare to vacate office space at the Penn Biden Center in Washington, D.C.,” in a statement to CBS News.
Other sources cited by the outlet said the documents were in a folder in a box that also contained unclassified documents. These sources did not reveal what the documents contained nor their level of classification. However, “a source familiar with the matter told CBS News the documents did not contain nuclear secrets,” said the outlet.
According to CNN, it is unclear why the documents were brought to Biden’s office. It also said that the classified materials included some top-secret files with the “sensitive compartmented information” designation used for highly sensitive information obtained from intelligence sources.
Sauber said the White House counsel’s office notified the National Archives immediately of the discovery and that the archives took possession of the materials the following morning.
“The documents were not the subject of any previous request or inquiry by the Archives. Since that discovery, the President’s personal attorneys have cooperated with the Archives and the Department of Justice in a process to ensure that any Obama-Biden Administration records are appropriately in the possession of the Archives,” he said.
Biden’s predecessor, former President Donald Trump, has been at the center of his own classified documents scandal for some time. In November, the U.S. Department of Justice announced the appointment of a special counsel in part to aid an “ongoing investigation involving classified documents and other presidential records, as well as the possible obstruction of that investigation.”
Federal agents reportedly found boxes of classified documents at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida this summer after the National Archives requested the papers in May. Trump has claimed that he declassified the documents.
In a Truth Social post, Trump said “a V.P. cannot Declassify documents, which are covered by the Federal Records Act, which is Criminal and MUCH TOUGHER than the Presidential Records Act, which is NOT Criminal. A President, me, can Declassify.”
News of the Biden office documents discovery broke as the president arrived in Mexico City for the 2023 North American Leaders’ Summit. It is the first time a president has visited the city since 2014.
“Nothing has changed in his schedule,” a senior administration official traveling with the president told CNN. “He’s focused on the summit and meeting with our closest neighbors.”
CNN also reported that “Biden stayed quiet and at one point appeared to smirk as shouting reporters were ushered out of the room,” after asking about the documents. The outlet also noted that a source familiar with the matter said Biden is still not aware of what is contained in the actual documents.
House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) didn’t say whether he believes House Republicans should investigate Biden’s retention of the classified documents, said CNN.
“I just think it goes to prove what they tried to do to President Trump overplayed their hand on that,” McCarthy said.
However, Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) – the top Democrat on the House Oversight panel – stressed that Biden’s attorneys quickly handed over the small number of documents, while Trump allegedly kept boxes of documents after being asked to relinquish them. Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) and Rep. Jim Himes (D-Conn.) both said that classified information must remain secure in all circumstances.
“Based on recent developments, including the former President’s announcement that he is a candidate for President in the next election, and the sitting President’s stated intention to be a candidate as well, I have concluded that it is in the public interest to appoint a special counsel,” said Garland in November.
While Trump has officially declared his candidacy, Biden’s 2024 campaign isn’t official yet, per CNN. Still, the outlet said that is appears likely that the president will run for a second term in office.
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