Biden classified documents: White House won’t say why it didn’t disclose earlier that records were found

“Those entrusted with access to classified information have a duty and an obligation to protect it. This issue demands a full and thorough review,” he wrote.

The discovery of the documents in connection with Biden, a Democrat, was first reported Monday afternoon by CBS News.

Soon after, a lawyer for Biden said that a “small number” of records marked classified were found Nov. 2 in a locked closet in an office at the Penn Biden Center.

That was six days before the midterm elections, when Democrats were trying to win enough seats in the House and Senate to retain majority control of both chambers of Congress. Democrats actually gained a seat in the Senate, and narrowly lost control of the House to Republicans.

Biden used the office when he was a private citizen between January 2017 and January 2021.

The documents found appear to be from the Obama administration, in which Biden had served as vice president for two terms, according to Richard Sauber, special counsel to Biden.

Sauber said on the same day the documents were discovered, the White House Counsel’s Office notified the National Archives and Records Administration of that fact.

“The Archives took possession of the materials the following morning,” Sauber said in a statement.

He also said that Biden’s personal attorneys have been cooperating with the National Archives and the DOJ “to ensure that any Obama-Biden Administration records are appropriately in the possession of the Archives.”

After the documents were discovered Attorney General Merrick Garland, who was appointed by Biden, tasked John Lausch, the top federal prosecutor for the Northern District of Illinois, with reviewing how the classified material ended up at the Penn Biden Center. Lausch is one of just two U.S. attorneys appointed by Trump to have remained in office under the Biden administration, and Garland tapped him for the assignment to avoid the appearance of a conflict of interest.

The other Trump-appointed U.S. attorney who remains in office, David Weiss of Delaware, is overseeing a criminal investigation of Biden’s son, Hunter Biden, in connection with tax issues and his business dealings.

Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin, D-Ill., on Tuesday praised President Biden and Garland for how they handled the discovery of the documents. 

“I applaud President Biden and Attorney General Garland for their professional, nonpartisan handling of this situation,” Durbin said in a statement.

“Unlike former President Donald Trump, who allegedly obstructed efforts to recover hundreds of classified documents, the handful of classified documents reportedly found at the Biden Center were immediately sent to the National Archives and President Biden is allowing the Justice Department to operate free of political interference,” Durbin said.

Article source: https://www.cnbc.com/2023/01/10/biden-classified-documents-white-house-mum-on-disclosure-timing.html