DOJ reviewing classified documents found at Biden facility from time as VP

Kevin Johnson, USA TODAY
·2 min read
5

The Justice Department is reviewing a number of classified documents recovered last fall in a storage closet connected to an office used by President Joe Biden prior to his presidential campaign, the White House confirmed Monday.

The undisclosed number of records were discovered Nov. 2 by Biden's personal attorneys in a locked closet as they were preparing to vacate a Washington, D.C., office space known as the Penn Biden Center used by the then-former vice president from 2017 until the launch of the 2020 presidential campaign.

Richard Sauber, a special counsel to the president, said the documents were immediately turned over the National Archives.

More: Trump Mar-a-Lago home in Florida searched by FBI in probe into handling of classified documents

President Joe Biden arrives at the Felipe Angeles international airport in Zumpango, Mexico, Sunday, Jan. 8, 2023. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)
President Joe Biden arrives at the Felipe Angeles international airport in Zumpango, Mexico, Sunday, Jan. 8, 2023. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)

Since that time, Sauber said Biden's personal attorneys have been cooperating with the National Archives and a Justice Department review, headed by the U.S. attorney in Chicago.

The counsel did not describe the nature of the documents, only referring to a "small number" of documents.

The review was first reported by CBS News.

The Justice Department declined comment Monday.

More: 'Lives could be at stake': Trump document review to gauge whether US sources put at risk

Disclosure of the review comes as the Justice Department is investigating Donald Trump's handling of a trove of classified documents seized from his Florida estate by FBI agents in August.

The seizure followed repeated efforts to recover the Trump documents, including by a grand jury subpoena served at the Mar-a-Lago property in June.

September 6, 2022: This image, contained in a court filing by the Department of Justice and redacted in part by the FBI, shows a photo of documents seized during the search on Aug. 8, 2022, by the FBI of former President Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida.
September 6, 2022: This image, contained in a court filing by the Department of Justice and redacted in part by the FBI, shows a photo of documents seized during the search on Aug. 8, 2022, by the FBI of former President Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida.

The Trump document review is one of two criminal inquiries, including the former president's attempt to interfere with the transfer of leadership to President Joe Biden, that is now being overseen by Justice Department special counsel Jack Smith.

The Biden review is being overseen by John Lausch Jr., the chief federal prosecutor in Chicago, a holdover from the Trump administration.

Lausch's office declined comment Monday.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Biden classified documents: DOJ reviewing recovered documents

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