Justice Department sources confirmed a third discovery of classified documents at a private residence of Joe Biden. Specifically, several media outlets report that the discovery occurred at the president's personal residence in Wilmington, Delaware.
The discovery follows the discovery of two other batches of classified files pertaining to his time as vice president during the Obama Administration.
🚨🚨🚨BREAKING: DOJ confirms to Fox News of a CONFIRMED third discovery of classified documents mishandled by Joe Biden in his private residence pic.twitter.com/D6lfUOt8mk
— Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) January 12, 2023
On Thursday, after further information was revealed regarding classified documents found in both an office and the garage of a home belonging to President Joe Biden, Attorney General Merrick Garland appointed a special prosecutor to work on the case.
After the first discovery, the Department of Justice (DOJ) appointed U.S. Attorney John Lausch. However, with the appearance of the second batch and the growing importance of the situation, Garland chose Robert Hur as the special prosecutor in charge.
"Under the special counsel regulations, it was in the public interest to appoint a special counsel," Garland said during a press conference at the DOJ. He added that the appointment "underscores the department's commitment to both independence and accountability in particularly sensitive matters and to making decisions guided only by the facts and the law."
A special prosecutor is appointed when the DOJ deems a matter to be in the public interest and an outsider is required to step in and take responsibility. In that sense, Hur will have certain extraordinary legal powers to clarify the discovery of the classified documents.
Meanwhile, both Joe Biden himself and the White House claim to be cooperating with the justice system. The president said he was "surprised" by the appearance of these documents -more and more- and the White House have asserted that they are working at the disposal of the National Archives and the DOJ.
Statement from White House Counsel's Office on ongoing cooperation with the Archives and Department of Justice: pic.twitter.com/Dn3F8Oqggd
— Ian Sams (@IanSams46) January 12, 2023
The Presidential Records Retention Act requires presidents and vice presidents to turn over White House materials to the National Archives and Records Administration. Biden kept this sensitive material in his private offices, garages and residences.
