Speaker 1 (00:00):
This morning, ABC News has learned classified documents from President Biden’s time as Vice President have been found at an office he no longer uses. Biden did not answer questions about the documents as he wrapped up a meeting in Mexico last night.
(00:19)
According to his attorneys, a small number of documents with classified markings were found in a locked closet in November when workers cleaned out his former office at the Penn Biden Center. Biden’s attorney says they immediately alerted the White House Counsel’s office and the National Archives took the documents the next day.
Speaker 2 (00:38):
There’s no indication yet that there’s any kind of criminal investigation that’s been launched as a result of this finding. We understand that the Justice Department is just launching a review.
Speaker 1 (00:49):
But former President Trump was quick to respond asking, “When is the FBI going to raid the many homes of Joe Biden, perhaps even the White House?” Trump is under criminal investigation after agents found hundreds of classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago estate. At the time, Biden called Trump totally irresponsible.
Speaker 3 (01:11):
I thought, what data was in there that may compromise sources and methods?
Speaker 1 (01:16):
The discovery of documents in the Biden office comes as Republicans take control of the house promising to investigate the Biden administration.
Speaker 4 (01:25):
Oh, really? They just now found them after all these years. I think from the same point that the Dems overplayed their hand on Mar-a-Lago, it’s just another proof of that.
Speaker 1 (01:35):
But there are key differences in the Trump and Biden cases, including the number of documents found, how were they stored, and in Trump’s case, federal officials say they tried for months to recover the documents at Mar-a-Lago.
(01:48)
According to experts, classified documents are routinely misplaced. Any investigation would look into how the documents were safeguarded, whether they were purposely hidden, and whether someone tried to obstruct the investigation once the documents were found.
(02:05)
In the statement, the top Democrat on the House Oversight Committee, Jamie Raskin said it appears Biden took proper action when the documents were found.