In November, President Joe Biden was astonished to learn that confidential documents had been discovered in his former private office.
“I don’t know what’s in the documents,” he stated, implying that his attorneys told him not to inquire about their contents.
The documents discovered at the Penn Biden Center in Washington contain briefings on various nations.
A Republican congressional committee has stated that it will conduct an investigation.
James Comer, chairman of the oversight group, expressed concern that Vice President Biden had jeopardized intelligence sources.
The US Department of Justice is also examining the situation.
Mr. Comer, who represents a district in Kentucky, has requested that the White House release all records and communications about the classified items.
In its request, which is not a court summons, it also requests, by January 24th. A list of those who had access to the office space.
Mr. Biden told reporters on Tuesday in Mexico City, where he was attending a meeting, that he was “completely cooperating with the inquiry.”
According to his attorney, the records about his stint as vice president, but their classification level and purpose are unknown.
CNN says, citing a source with knowledge of the situation, that the ten secret files contain US intelligence notes. And briefing materials on issues such as Ukraine, Iran, and the United Kingdom.
CNN reports that they were discovered in a manila folder labeled “personal” in a private office he occupied from 2017 to 2020. While it was being cleaned up by one of his lawyers.
According to a source with knowledge of the situation, the batch did not contain nuclear secrets.
The records were discovered in a locked closet on November 2, 2016, days before the US midterm elections.
According to reports, officials are probing if Mr. Biden has additional secret information in other locations.
US Attorney General Merrick Garland
Mr. Biden’s predecessor, Donald Trump, is being investigated by the Department of Justice for taking secret documents to his Florida estate, Mar-a-Lago, after leaving office.
Republicans, who recently won control of the US House of Representatives. And vowed to investigate the Biden administration, have accused the president of hypocrisy.
In September, President Biden spoke on CBS and, when asked about the documents found at Mar-a-Lago. He stated that it was “very irresponsible.”
There are, however, significant contrasts between the circumstances of Mr. Biden and Mr. Trump.
Mr. Trump’s investigation involves more than 300 classified documents, including 18 marked top secrets.
Federal prosecutors argue that Mr. Trump’s legal team did not effectively cooperate with the National Archives to return the materials, forcing an unprecedented FBI raid on his Mar-a-Lago residence in August.
The White House stated that Mr. Biden’s attorneys notified the National Archives as soon as they discovered the documents. And the National Archives obtained the documents the following morning.
The FBI is involved in the investigation, and US Attorney General Merrick Garland has been requested to evaluate the documents, according to CBS News.
On his social media site, Truth Social, Mr. Trump has made relevant remarks.
He posted on Tuesday, “Why didn’t the ‘Justice’ Department announce the Highly Classified documents found in Biden’s office before the election?”
In another post, he stated, “A Vice President cannot declassify documents,” adding, “Only the President can declassify.”
The Penn Biden Center and the National Archives did not immediately comment.
