The president used the Penn Biden Center’s office space from mid-2017 until he began the 2020 campaign
A batch of records from President Biden’s time as Vice President, including a “small number of documents with classified markings,” were discovered at the Penn Biden Center by the president’s personal attorneys on Nov. 2, according to Richard Saubel, special counsel to the White House.
The attorneys found the documents in a locked closet while preparing to vacate office space at the center, which the president used from mid-2017 until he began the 2020 campaign.
The National Archives were notified of the finding and took possession of the documents on Nov. 3, Saubel said.
“The documents were not the subject of any previous request or inquiry by the Archives,” Saubel said in a statement. “Since that discover, the President’s personal attorneys have cooperated with he Archives and the Department of Justice in process to ensure that any Obama-Biden Administration records are appropriately in the possession of the Archives.”
Attorney General Merrick Garland appointed U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois John Lausch to review the matter, according to CBS News, who first reported on the documents’ discovery on Monday.
Biden slammed former President Trump last year after FBI agents seized approximately 300 classified documents from his Mar-a-Lago home in Florida.
“How that could possibly happen? How anyone could be that irresponsible? And I thought what data was int here that would maybe compromise sources and methods?” the president told 60 Minutes. “And it just — totally irresponsible.”
The Department of Justice did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Monday.
By Paul Best
