More classified Obama administration documents were found at President Joe Biden’s Delaware residence this week – in addition to the two lots that were previously leaked – the White House announced on Saturday.
This brings the total number of documents found to three: a “small” number in a Washington office used by Biden, another in the garage of his residence and finally six pages in a room adjacent to the garage.
The findings have spread over the past week – starting on Monday, followed by an acknowledgment on Thursday and then an announcement on Saturday – stoking criticism of Biden and alarming his allies that his office is not on top of the problem.
White House attorney Richard Sauber discovered the latest documents Thursday in a box originally discovered by the president’s personal attorneys on Wednesday.
The White House revealed earlier this week that Biden’s attorneys discovered a page with classified marks in a room adjacent to the garage of his Delaware home.
“The President’s personal attorneys discovered a document with a classified mark consisting of one page in a room adjacent to the garage. At that time, the President’s personal attorneys ceased searching the immediate area where the document was found” , Sauber said.
He said he examined the box in more detail on Thursday, found five other documents with classification marks and immediately transferred them to Justice Department officials.
“Because I have a security clearance, I flew to Wilmington Thursday night to facilitate the delivery of the document that the president’s personal attorney found at the Justice Department on Wednesday,” Sauber said. “While I was transferring it to the DOJ officials accompanying me, five additional pages with classification marks were discovered among the material with, for a total of six pages. The DOJ officials with me immediately took possession of it. “
He added, “The President’s attorneys acted immediately and voluntarily to provide the Penn Biden documents to the Archives and the Wilmington documents to the DOJ.”
Attorney General Merrick Garland on Thursday announced the appointment of Robert Hur as special counsel to review classified documents found at Biden’s home and an office he used in Washington. The administration will now refer specific matters to the special counsel’s office in the future, Sauber said Saturday.
The White House said earlier this week that Biden’s lawyers found a “small” number of classified documents from his time as vice president in a locked cupboard Nov. 2 at the Penn Biden Center for Diplomacy and Global Engagement in Washington. One of the documents was marked Top Secret/Sensitive Compartmented Information, the highest level of US government classification, NBC News has learned.
BNC News reported on Wednesday that Biden’s aides had uncovered an additional batch of classified documents – which was confirmed by Garland on Thursday when he announced the special counsel.
Biden said his team is fully cooperating with the DOJ review and hopes to be able to speak more about the matter “soon.”
The president and his aides declined to answer questions about the contents of the documents. “There is a process here. The Ministry of Justice is independent. We respect this process,” said Karine Jean-Pierre, White House press secretary. said friday.
Bob Bauer, Biden’s personal attorney, said in a statement Saturday that his team followed procedures already in place for handling classified documents. When a document with classified marks is discovered, the search should be suspended and the documents left where they were found, he added.
“The President’s personal attorneys have attempted to balance the importance of public transparency, where appropriate, with established standards and limitations necessary to protect the integrity of the investigation,” Bauer said. “These considerations necessitate avoiding public disclosure of details relevant to the investigation while it is ongoing.”
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