Just two days after the White House revealed the discovery of classified documents in one of Joe Biden's former offices, an additional batch was found on Wednesday dating back to his time as vice president in the Obama administration.
The new documents were not found at the Penn Biden Center for Diplomacy and Global Engagement, where the first batch was retrieved, but at a different site also linked to the current president, as reported by NBC News. Following the initial findings, aides have been canvassing different offices and places frequented by Biden.
As of Wednesday night, the number of pages, the level of classification, and the precise location of the site of the new discovery had not been disclosed. It was not confirmed whether the documents were from a recent meeting or if they were there for some time and the White House had kept them secret until now, similar to what happened with the first files.
Biden was "surprised"
The Penn Biden Center for Diplomacy and Global Engagement, located in Washington, was an office Biden used regularly between 2017 and leading up to the 2020 presidential election. According to CNN, the first documents, found on Nov. 2 and delivered to the National Archives a day later, contained material on Ukraine, the United Kingdom, and Iran.
On Monday, from the North American Leaders Summit in Mexico City, the president said he was "surprised" by the disclosure of the documents in the private office he used when he was an honorary professor at the University of Pennsylvania. "People know I take classified documents seriously," declared Biden, who has called Donald Trump "irresponsible" for amassing confidential files.
Biden reads a script to address the classified documents found in his office:
"People know I take classified documents, classified information very seriously...I was surprised to learn there were any gov't records that were taken there...I don't know what is in the documents." pic.twitter.com/9d3hnBOY7H
— Washington Free Beacon (@FreeBeacon) January 10, 2023
Trump's claims
The new revelation will intensify the Republican Party's call for clarification. Investigations into the case have already begun, headed by the U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, John Lausch.
How many classified documents did Biden inappropriately handle from his time as Vice President? https://t.co/5iSr5lCfZe
— House Republicans (@HouseGOP) January 11, 2023
In the wake of this discovery, Trump accused Biden of stealing classified documents during his time in the Obama administration and selling them to China for millions. He also questioned the FBI, comparing its actions during the current scandal and the raid on his Mar-a-Lago home in August 2022.
"When is the FBI going to raid the many homes of Joe Biden, perhaps even the White House?" he asked on Truth Social. He added: "These documents were definitely not declassified."
