WASHINGTON — The Justice Department found six items containing classified information during a Friday search of President Joe Biden’s home in Wilmington, Delaware, his personal lawyers said on Saturday.
The search, conducted by FBI agents and which lasted more than 12 hours, also turned up notes from Biden’s time in the Senate and vice presidency. They mark the latest classified documents found in Biden’s possession, a matter that poses political and legal risk for the president.
Last week, Attorney General Merrick Garland announced the appointment of a special counsel to investigate the discovery of the classified documents at a think tank office Biden used after serving as vice president, as well as in two areas of his house in Wilmington.
Garland had previously appointed a special counsel to investigate the discovery of classified documents at the home of former President Donald Trump, and questions about whether he or his associates deliberately misled government officials seeking their return.
Neither Biden nor first lady Jill Biden were present during the Friday search, Richard Sauber, special counsel to the president, said in a separate statement.
“As detailed in the statement released by the President’s personal attorney, the President and his team are working swiftly to ensure DOJ and the Special Counsel have what they need to conduct a thorough review,” Sauber said.
Biden is spending this chilly winter weekend at his beach home in Rehoboth. Press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre declined to tell reporters this week if he was avoiding the Wilmington property because of the investigation.
The discovery of a fourth batch of documents exacerbates an embarrassing political misstep for the president ahead of an expected 2024 reelection campaign. The White House has sought to draw a distinction with Trump, who has already announced a third presidential bid, by emphasizing Biden’s cooperation with investigators.
But the discoveries have turned attention away from a wave of momentum that Biden had been riding as 2022 ended with legislative victories and a better-than-expected Democrat midterm performance.
A Quinnipiac University poll conducted between Jan. 11 through Jan 15 revealed that some two-thirds of Americans say that they are following the developments either very closely or somewhat closely. Sixty-percent think that Biden acted inappropriately in the way that he handled the documents. Although only 37% think he should face criminal charges, according to the poll.
On Thursday, Biden criticized questions over the issue, saying that the American people didn’t understand the controversy.
“I have no regrets,” Biden told White House reporters during a trip to California. “I am following what the lawyers have told me they want me to do — that’s exactly what we’re doing. There’s no there there.”
The White House has declined to answer many questions on the matter, including why Biden didn’t immediately publicly disclose the discovery of the documents in November. CBS News broke the news two months after the first papers were found.
