During the past few weeks, the FBI searched the University of Delaware on at least two separate occasions for new classified documents that may have been hidden or improperly stored by President Joe Biden.
A "source familiar with the case" revealed to CNN that in both searches, which were not reported to the public, investigators examined two separate batches of documents: one with files from the president's time in the Senate; as well as documents Biden sent to the university in recent years.
This would be the sixth search conducted in connection with the federal investigation into President Biden's possible negligent use of classified material.
The first five records
1. Penn Biden Center: On January 10, 2023, it was revealed that the FBI found classified material in the president's office at the Penn Biden Center in Washington. The search was conducted in November of last year, before the midterm elections, but the White House did not release the news until many months later. These files allegedly contained intelligence information on Iran, the United Kingdom, and Ukraine and pertained to his time as vice president in the Barack Obama Administration.
2. Biden's Wilmington home (search #1): just two days after announcing the first findings, the White House revealed the searches of Biden's two homes in Rehoboth Beach and Wilmington (Delaware). The president kept another batch of classified documents in the garage of his Wilmington home. The new files were also from his time as vice president.
3. Wilmington (Record #2): A day later, Justice Department sources confirmed a third discovery of classified documents at the same Wilmington home. The discovery followed the two other discoveries of classified files pertaining to his time as vice president in the Obama Administration.
4. Wilmington (search #3): As early as January 22, the FBI turned over to the Department of Justice (DOJ) six more new classified documents also found in the Wilmington house. This was a search that the DOJ and the president's personal lawyers had agreed upon. It was conducted in a discreet and consensual manner, with no media present.
5. Rehoboth home: In early February, the FBI searched the president's beach house outside Rehoboth Beach and took handwritten notes related to his time as vice president. This time, they did not find any documents "with classified markings.”
Biden says "there's nothing there" and has no regrets
Biden tried on several occasions to downplay the ongoing investigation and dodge all questions from the press related to the appearance of the classified documents. “There's nothing there," the president once said when questioned about the findings.
Biden hinted that the documents turned up in his office and garage by a simple mistake and insisted he was cooperating with the Justice Department investigation. He showed no remorse for hiding files containing sensitive material that could jeopardize national security:
We discovered that a handful of documents were filed in the wrong place (...) We immediately turned them over to the Archives and the Department of Justice (...) We are cooperating fully, wanting this to be resolved quickly. I think you will find that there is nothing. I have no regrets. I am following what the lawyers have told me they want me to do. That is exactly what we are doing. There is nothing there.
NEW: "There's no there there," President Biden says in response to a question on the classified documents found at his home and former office, while delivering remarks in California.
"I think you're going to find there's nothing there. I have no regrets." https://t.co/iGTyH4atBx pic.twitter.com/0C0AWDkbfO
— CBS News (@CBSNews) January 20, 2023
White House refuses to "comment"
When Karine Jean-Pierre was asked if the search for classified documents was still ongoing, or if all documents were already retrieved, the White House press secretary did not seem to take the question well and stated that she would not comment on the matter, a response similar to that of the president when questioned about the same investigation.
"I'm not going to comment from here," she said and emphasized that the Biden Administration does not usually talk about Justice Department matters.
Reporter: "You told us, Karine, SIX times [the search for classified documents was complete]. That turned out to be false. Are you sorry about that?"
Jean-Pierre: "I'll see you tomorrow. Come talk to me! I'll see you tomorrow." pic.twitter.com/YsbKgGaLIS
— Washington Free Beacon (@FreeBeacon) January 17, 2023
DOJ does not cooperate with the investigation and appointment of special prosecutor
Jim Jordan, Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee from the House of Representatives asked for access to the information held by the Justice Department on the Biden case since the House Committee is also conducting an investigation into the recently discovered classified documents.
The Justice Department refused to provide Jordan with most of the information he had requested, at least until the investigation is completed, on the grounds that it could compromise the ongoing investigation, as well as run the risk of a political conflict.
The DOJ also confirmed that a special investigator had already been appointed by Attorney General Merrick Garland to oversee the case.
Garland initially appointed U.S. Attorney John Lausch to prosecute the case. However, as the situation became increasingly important, he chose Robert Hur as special prosecutor:
Extraordinary circumstances require the appointment of a special counsel for this matter (...) This appointment underscores to the public the department's commitment to both independence and accountability in particularly sensitive matters.
A special prosecutor is appointed when the DOJ deems a matter to be of public interest and an outsider is required to step in and take responsibility.
Search of Mike Pence's home
Following the discovery of the president's hidden documents, several homes of high-ranking officials, as well as politicians who have held important positions in the past, were searched. One of them was former Vice President Mike Pence.
A dozen classified documents were found at the former vice president's home in Carmel, Indiana. His lawyer found them and turned them over to the FBI. Only a few days after this first search, the federal agency revealed a second search that resulted in the discovery of one more classified document and six additional pages of documents that don't have confidential markings. This search was planned for days and the agents had Pence's full consent.
From the spectacle of Mar-a-Lago to the sobriety of Biden's records
None of these FBI searches of high-ranking officials for concealing classified materials were anywhere near as scandalous as what President Donald Trump underwent in August 2022, when his home in Mar-a-Lago was raided by federal agents. Trump had around 300 classified documents in his possession.
This is still being fought in court and they are trying to indict the former president for various crimes in this matter.
