In the search for government documents, investigators came across other secret documents in the private rooms of US President Joe Biden. The US Department of Justice confiscated six documents with appropriate markings at Biden’s home in Wilmington, Delaware, as Biden’s attorney Bob Bauer announced on Saturday.
Some files came from Biden’s term in the US Senate between 1973 and 2009, others from the time as vice president in the Obama administration from 2009 to 2017. The search lasted more than twelve hours and the investigators also had handwritten notes from the president taken with him from his time as Vice President.
The White House is trying to limit the damage
The White House is trying to limit the damage after coming under massive criticism for its information policy. In the past few weeks, confidential documents have repeatedly appeared in Biden’s private rooms – in Delaware and Washington. The public only found out about some of the finds when the media reported about them. Attorney General Merrick Garland hired a special counsel to investigate the incidents.
Biden’s lawyer now emphasized that the investigators had “unrestricted access” to the house during the search on Friday. All kinds of documents such as handwritten notes, files, folders, memorabilia, task lists and schedules, some of which went back decades, were made available. Biden himself made it clear on Thursday that he was “fully cooperating” with the Justice Department. “I think you’ll see that there’s nothing there,” he said when asked by reporters at an appointment in California.
The revelations are politically extremely sensitive for the president – because it is not allowed to store confidential government documents privately after leaving office. The National Archives are responsible for this in the USA.
The first tranche of confidential government documents was discovered on November 2 – shortly before the US congressional elections. The White House emphasizes that Biden’s lawyers immediately informed the National Archives. However, the public only found out about it in January when the broadcaster CBS reported about it. In response to the initial discovery, Biden’s staff then looked elsewhere.
The FBI had also discovered confidential documents on Trump
The find of documents is also very explosive for Biden because former Republican President Donald Trump caused a scandal with a similar case in the summer: after leaving the White House, Trump kept large amounts of confidential government documents in his private estate in Florida on. The FBI searched the property in August and confiscated various classified documents. Biden criticized Trump’s handling of the documents at the time.
In Trump’s case, Garland also used an independent special investigator for the politically sensitive investigation – mainly because Trump announced a renewed candidacy for the presidency and criticized the investigation against him as politically motivated. Biden has also repeatedly stated his general intention to run again in the 2024 presidential election. He has not yet made a final decision public.
Trump responded with glee on Saturday. On its online platform Truth Social he wrote to Biden and his team: “You created this document mess yourself by targeting me so badly – I did nothing wrong.”
Biden’s chief of staff Ron Klain before leaving
US President Joe Biden’s chief of staff wants according to a report by New York Times resign after two years in office. Ron Klain will give up his post “probably in the coming weeks,” the newspaper reported on Saturday, citing government circles. Other insiders confirm the report. There was initially no information about the successor. Biden appointed Klain chief of staff at the beginning of his tenure two years ago.
Biden’s chief of staff, Ron Klain, appears to be planning to step down.
(Photo: Saul Loeb/AFP)
According to the newspaper, Klain apparently plans to leave after the President’s Feb. 7 State of the Union address. The 61-year-old was already chief of staff to former Vice President Al Gore and Joe Biden when he was vice president under President Barack Obama. The post of chief of staff is one of the most important in the White House. He is the senior political officer, driving the President’s political agenda and ensuring that suitable staff are hired.
According to information from New York Times Klain has been talking to colleagues about his retirement since the US midterm elections in November. In the talks, he made it clear that he was ready for something new after a continuously strenuous time at Biden’s side, which extended into the 2020 presidential election campaign.