White House Issues First Reaction to Appointment of Special Counsel in Biden, Classified Documents Case
The White House is expressing confidence a special counsel investigation will determine classified documents in President Joe Biden’s possession were “inadvertently misplaced.” On Thursday, White House Press Secretary…
The White House is expressing confidence a special counsel investigation will determine classified documents in President Joe Biden’s possession were “inadvertently misplaced.”
On Thursday, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre reacted to the news a special counsel was appointed to look into the president’s handling of classified information.
She read a statement from Special Counsel to the President Richard Sauber, which stated, “As the president has said, he takes classified information and materials seriously.”
“And as we have said, we have cooperated from the moment we informed the Archives that a small number of documents were found, and we will continue to cooperate,” the statement continued.
Finally, the statement added, “We are confident that a thorough review will show that these documents were inadvertently misplaced, and the president and his lawyers acted promptly upon discovery of this mistake.”
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On Thursday, Attorney General Merrick Garlandannounced he appointed U.S. Attorney Robert Hur as special counsel to investigate Biden’s handling of classified documents.
Garland’s appointment of a special counsel came days after it was reported a U.S. attorney was reviewing roughly 10 documents from Biden’s time as vice president found at the Penn Biden Center for Diplomacy and Global Engagement in Washington, D.C.
Another batch of documents was found in the garage of the president’s Wilmington, Delaware home and another room, IJR reported.
The New York Times noted, “The appointment is intended to insulate the Justice Department from accusations of partisanship at a time when the new Republican majority in the House has embarked on an aggressive and open-ended investigation into what they claim is the Biden administration’s bias against their party.”
It added Hur “is authorized to prosecute any crimes arising from the inquiry or to refer matters for prosecution by federal attorneys in other jurisdictions.”
Biden told reporters Tuesday he was “surprised to learn that there were any government records that were taken” to the Penn Biden Center office.
“But I don’t know what’s in the documents. My lawyers have not suggested I ask what documents they were,” he added.
CNN reported the documents contained intelligence memos on Iran, Ukraine, and the United Kingdom.
When asked about the documents in his garage, Biden stressed it was locked.
He added, “People know I take classified documents and classified material seriously. I also said we’re cooperating fully and completely with the Justice Department’s review.”