During a 13-hour search of President Joe Biden’s residence in Delaware, US Department of Justice (DoJ) investigators discovered six additional secret documents, according to Mr. Biden’s attorney.
Some of the records confiscated from his Wilmington residence on Friday were from his time as a senator. While others were from his time as vice president under Barack Obama.
Attorney Bob Bauer stated that handwritten notes and surrounding materials were also removed.
Mr. Biden and his spouse were absent.
Mr. Bauer said in a statement released on Saturday that the president provided “access to his residence to allow the Department of Justice to undertake a search of the full premises for potential vice-presidential records and any classified information.”
Former President Donald Trump is reportedly under investigation for misusing secret documents.
Mr. Biden’s attorneys stated earlier this month that a first batch of classified materials had been discovered on November 2 at the Penn Biden Center, a think tank founded by the president in Washington, D.C.
On 20 December, a second batch of data was discovered in the garage of his Wilmington home, and on 12 January, another document was discovered in a storage area of the residence, according to his attorneys.
After discovering the records, according to the president, his team promptly forwarded them to the National Archives and the Justice Department. It is unclear why Mr. Biden retained them.
Six more confidential documents seized at Biden house
Under the Presidential Records Act, White House records are to be transferred to the National Archives. Where they can be securely archived, upon the conclusion of an administration.
Robert Hur has been appointed as the special counsel to investigate how the sensitive materials were handled.
The lengthy investigation and subsequent discovery of additional records is a political nightmare for the president. Who is preparing to announce whether he will seek reelection in 2024.
Mr. Biden and his wife, Jill, are spending the weekend in Rehoboth Beach. A seaside community in Delaware where they maintain a second home. According to the New York Times, it was examined earlier this month and no records were recovered. As stated by his attorneys.
North America correspondent Anthony Zurcher, the two-month gap between the initial Biden discovery – days before the midterm elections – and the news became public in January raises serious questions about the president’s commitment to transparency.
Sensitive documents are recovered from the Biden residence
Mr. Biden said he had “no regrets” about not disclosing the sensitive materials before the November midterms.
Trump and his attorney refused to hand up the data until the FBI searched his Florida vacation home last August. He asserts that President Biden is receiving preferential treatment from the FBI.
At the time, President Biden stated that Mr. Trump’s handling of the materials was “very reckless.”
Legal experts dispute Mr. Trump’s claim that he had the authority as president to declassify the documents. As he has not explained their presence.
