The Republican-led House Committee on Oversight and Accountability launched an investigation into the documents, which were marked classified Found in a private desk used by President Joe Biden. CBS News has learned that these documents have been marked with various levels of rating including some that are highly rated.
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in Letter to Stuart DeleryThe White House counsel, Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, of Kentucky, wrote that the committee was “concerned that President Biden has abused (intelligence) sources and methods with his mishandling of classified documents.”
Kummer is asking the White House to turn over all documents and correspondence related to classified materials found in Biden’s personal office — including the classified documents themselves — by January 24. The documents were turned over to the National Archives on November 3, according to the White House statement. They are believed to be held in a secure facility in Washington.
It also requests a list of people with access to the office space and any document-related communication between the White House, the National Archives, and the Justice Department.
The application did not include a subpoena.
The House investigation comes about 24 hours after CBS News first reported that the Justice Department was reviewing nearly 10 documents marked classified that were found at the Ben Biden Center, a think tank in Washington, D.C., where Biden worked between 2017 and 2017. and 2019. Two sources said the documents stem from Biden’s tenure as vice president.
The documents were found in a locked safe by Biden’s personal attorneys who were cleaning up the space on November 2, according to a statement from White House attorney Richard Sauber. The lawyers suspended their work and reported the discovery to the White House attorneys.
The White House counsel then notified the National Archives, the federal agency responsible for securing and preserving the presidential and vice presidential papers. The archive referred the matter to the Ministry of Justice.
Attorney General Merrick Garland assigned John Lauch, Jr., a U.S. attorney based in Chicago, to review the classified materials and investigate how they got into the President’s Special Office. The FBI is assisting with the review, which is expected to conclude soon.
A source familiar with the investigation told CBS that officials at the Justice Department are exploring whether there are additional classified documents at other locations.
send coming a Second letter to the National Archives Tuesday, he said his committee will also investigate “whether there is political bias” at the agency. It alleges “inconsistent treatment of recovering classified records held by former President Trump and President Biden.” The letter also requests agency documents and communications within 14 days and certification from senior archive officials by January 17.
In August, the FBI executed a search warrant at former President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate that yielded more than 100 documents that were classified classified. The forfeiture came a year after Trump and his representatives resisted federal efforts to retrieve the documents from the Trump administration. In all, more than 300 classified documents have been recovered from Mar-a-Lago.
A special counsel is investigating Trump’s handling of classified materials.
