According to the counsel for US President Joe Biden on Saturday, five additional pages with classified markings were discovered at the president’s residence in Wilmington, Delaware, on Thursday. These pages were immediately given to representatives from the Justice Department (DOJ).
Richard Sauber, Biden’s special counsel, stated that he traveled to Biden’s Wilmington residence on Thursday to facilitate the transfer of a document that had been discovered there earlier with classified markings to the Justice Department.
“While I was transferring it to the officials of the DOJ who were accompanying me, I discovered five additional pages with classification markings among the material that was with it, making a total of six pages. In a statement, Sauber said, “The DOJ officials with me immediately took possession of them.”
This week, Biden’s legal team acknowledged that they had discovered classified documents in his Delaware home, including some in his garage, related to his time as vice president under President Obama.
A second batch of classified documents was previously discovered by aides at his residence and a Washington think tank he was associated with. On Thursday, US Attorney General Merrick Garland appointed a special counsel to investigate the situation.
https://twitter.com/JudiciaryGOP/status/1614311572020641794
How many additional classified documents will they discover at Joe Biden’s residence? on Saturday, the Republican House Judiciary Committee stated in a tweet.
According to Sauber, Biden’s lawyers have handed over all of the discovered documents to the appropriate authorities “immediately and voluntarily.”
We have now made specific information about the documents that were found, how they were found, and where they were found public. We will now direct specific questions to the special counsel’s office moving forward as a result of the special counsel’s appointment this week. The White House will cooperate with the newly appointed special counsel, as I stated on Thursday,” he stated.
With his wife, Jill Biden, who had surgery on Wednesday to remove skin lesions from her face and chest, Biden is spending the weekend in Wilmington.
On Thursday, a reporter questioned Biden regarding the wisdom of keeping important documents close to his Corvette. Both were in a locked garage, according to the president, who claimed to be a “car guy.”
He stated, “It’s not like they’re sitting out in the street.” People are aware that I take classified information and documents very seriously.
On Friday, Republicans in the US House of Representatives began an investigation into the Justice Department’s handling of Biden’s improperly stored classified documents and inquired as to whether his son Hunter had access to any of them.
Top Republicans on the House Judiciary Committee requested all pertinent documents and communications between the White House, the Justice Department, the FBI, and Biden’s attorneys in a letter to Garland.
James Comer, the Republican chair of the House Oversight Committee, said on Saturday that the National Archives, Justice Department, and White House had not been transparent, calling the situation alarming. Comer said the case would also be looked at by his panel.
Republicans have attempted to draw parallels between the investigation and the ongoing investigation into how former President Donald Trump handled classified documents.
Because Biden’s team turned over those documents and cooperated with authorities in their investigation, the White House claims that the two cases are distinct. Prior to an FBI search of his Florida resort in August, Trump had resisted doing so.
In a statement, Bob Bauer, Biden’s personal attorney, stated that Biden had instructed his lawyers to cooperate fully with the National Archives and Records Administration and the Justice Department regarding the documents.
“In addition, the president’s personal attorneys have endeavored to strike a balance between the significance of public transparency and the established rules and restrictions required to safeguard the integrity of the investigation whenever possible. Because of these considerations, it is necessary to keep the investigation’s relevant information from being made public while it is still ongoing.