WASHINGTON — Investigators with the Department of Justice found an additional six items with classified material from President Joe Biden’s home in Wilmington, Del. during an all-day search Friday of his residence, according to the president’s attorneys.
The search, which began at 9:45 am. Friday and ended around 10:30 p.m. the same day, turned up classified documents from Biden’s time as vice president and in the U.S. Senate, Bob Bauer, Biden’s attorney, said in a statement Saturday.
The revelation adds to a self-inflicted White House crisis that prompted Attorney General Merrick Garland this month to appoint a special counsel to investigate the president’s mishandling of classified documents.
The 13-hour search on Friday took place after Biden’s legal team alerted Justice Department officials about classified documents found at the home last week.
Bauer said the Justice Department had full access to the home including personally handwritten notes, files, papers, binders, memorabilia, to-do lists, schedules and reminders that go back “decades.”
“DOJ took possession of materials it deemed within the scope of its inquiry,” Bauer said, “including six items consisting of documents with classification markings and surrounding materials, some of which were from the President’s service in the Senate and some of which were from his tenure as Vice President. DOJ also took for further review personally handwritten notes from the vice-presidential years.”
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Biden at Rehoboth Beach, Delaware vacation home
Biden left the White House Friday evening for Rehoboth Beach, Del., where he’s spending the weekend at his vacation home.
In an agreement with the Justice Department, representatives of Biden’s personal legal team and the White House’s legal counsel were present during the search. Biden was not present.
“The President and his team are working swiftly to ensure DOJ and the Special Counsel have what they need to conduct a thorough review,” Richard Sauber, special counsel to the president, said in a statement.
Bauer said the Justice Department requested that the search not be made public in advance.
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Biden classified documents
The revelation marks the fourth time the White House or Biden’s personal attorneys have disclosed finding classified documents at locations tied to Biden. An initial batch of about 10 classified documents was found Nov. 2 in the president’s former office at the Penn Biden Center in Washington.
Six other documents were found last week in a room adjacent to Biden’s garage in the Wilmington home. Other documents were found on Dec. 20 inside the garage.
Attorney General Merrick Garland has appointed a special counsel, Robert Hur, to investigate Biden’s handling of the classified documents.
Reach Joey Garrison on Twitter @joeygarrison.
Contributing: Francesca Chambers
