OPINION: This article may contain commentary which reflects the author's opinion.
President Joe Biden is not interested in talking about the scandal involving him bringing classified documents to a non-secure location, and keeping them, from his time as vice president.
On Wednesday the president remained silent as several reporters shouted questions to him about the scandal.
During a bilateral meeting with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, several reporters shouted questions about the new Department of Justice investigation into classified documents that were found at the Penn Biden Center think tank. Biden sat in his seat and pretended not to hear the questions.
“Mr. President, do you have any comment on the classified documents,” a reporter shouted at Biden.
Biden and Trudeau remained silent and stared at the press corps while members of their staff rushed reporters out of the room.
Reporter: "Did you mishandle classified documents?"
Joe Biden REFUSES to take questions about the classified documents found at his private offices. pic.twitter.com/5tj02H5bkt
— Patriot Alerts (@alerts___) January 11, 2023
And now another batch of classified documents, held at a separate office, has been discovered, NBC News reported.
Aides to President Joe Biden have discovered at least one additional batch of classified documents in a location separate from the Washington office he used after leaving the Obama administration, according to a person familiar with the matter.
Since November, after the discovery of documents with classified markings in his former office, Biden aides have been searching for any additional classified materials that might be in other locations he used, said the source, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to provide details about the ongoing inquiry.
The White House did not return a request for comment. The Justice Department had no comment.
From the first batch a number of classified documents related to Ukraine, Iran, and the UK were discovered by a personal lawyer to President Joe Biden in a private office he used during his work for the University of Pennsylvania, according to CNN on Tuesday, citing several sources familiar with the matter.
The discovery, made just days before the midterm elections, was immediately reported to the National Archives and Attorney General Merrick Garland has been briefed a number of times about the ongoing investigation into the matter by Chicago-based U.S. Attorney John Lausch Jr., one of the few holdovers from the presidency of Donald Trump.
The Tuesday report said investigators have discovered “10 classified documents including US intelligence memos and briefing materials that covered” a variety of topics related to those countries, CNN noted, adding that Garland now “faces the critical decision on how to proceed, including whether to open a full-blown criminal investigation.”
CNN adds:
The classified documents were dated between 2013 and 2016, according to the source familiar. They were found in three or four boxes also containing unclassified papers that fall under the Presidential Records Act.
The vast majority of the items in the office contained personal Biden family documents, including materials about Beau Biden’s funeral arrangements and condolence letters, the source told CNN. It is not clear if the boxes with classified documents contained personal materials.
Attorney General Merrick Garland has assigned the US attorney in Chicago, a holdover from the Trump administration, to investigate the matter, CNN previously reported. Garland made this move after receiving a referral from the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA).
CNN noted further that the documents were discovered six days before the midterm elections, on Nov. 2.
“After making contact with NARA, Biden’s team turned over several boxes in an abundance of caution, even though many of the boxes contained personal materials, the source said,” CNN reported.
Biden has denied any knowledge that the classified documents were in his possession.
“I was surprised to learn there were any government records that were taken there to that office,” Biden said in response to a reporter’s question during a news conference in Mexico City, as he attended a meeting with Mexican and Canadian leaders.
The documents, the president said, were found in “a box, locked cabinet – or at least a closet.”
“People know I take classified documents, classified information seriously,” he said.
Meanwhile, Trump — whose Mar-a-Lago estate was raided by dozens of FBI agents in early August ostensibly for possession of classified documents — responded to the news on his Truth Social platform.
“When is the FBI going to raid the many homes of Joe Biden, perhaps even the White House? These documents were definitely not declassified,” Trump claimed.
“Why didn’t the ‘Justice’ Department announce the Highly Classified documents found in the Biden Office before the Election?” Trump queried.
“Biden’s documents are HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL, many pertain to UKRAINE, where Hunter was ‘raking in the dough,’ and FUNDED BY CHINA, which gave $55 Million to Biden, through Penn, and probably had easy access,” he noted further.
