The FBI searched the former office of Joe Biden at the Penn Biden Center in November, after classified documents were found there.
On November 2nd last year, lawyers for Joe Biden discovered around 10 classified documents in the former Vice President’s former office in the Washington DC-based think tank, from his time serving under the Obama administration. Biden used the office near the Capitol between 2017 and 2019.
A couple of weeks later, the FBI searched the office, according to a CBS report. It has not been confirmed whether any further classified documents were found in the think tank building, which is affiliated with the University of Pennsylvania.
Before the report from CBS was published, the Biden White House, who with the FBI and the Department of Justice has refused to comment on the story, did not disclose that the FBI searched the office at all, even as the scandal around the mishandling of classified documents continued.
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"The FBI search of the think tank was not previously disclosed by the White House, Mr. Biden's personal attorneys, or the Department of Justice. "
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— Comfortably Smug (@ComfortablySmug) January 31, 2023
Earlier this month, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre insisted that the administration has been “transparent” when talking about the investigation.
Just a day later on January 14th, a statement from Biden’s personal attorney Bob Bauer simply referred to the government conducting “its inquiry, including taking possession of any documents and reviewing any surrounding material for further review and context.”
Karine Jean-Pierre insists the Biden administration has "been transparent" around the classified documents found stowed away in Biden's private office, garage, and home. pic.twitter.com/GqAqSrXcGS
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) January 13, 2023
Since the news broke that multiple stashes of classified documents from his time as Vice President and the Senate were found in his Delaware home and his office near the Captiol, Biden has remained unapologetic, telling reporters that he has “no regrets.”
However, top Senate Democrats, including Dick Durbin and Joe Manchin, slammed Biden over his handling of the documents. Speaking to CNN’s Dana Bash, Durbin said that it was simply “unacceptable” to think that classified documents could have “ended up in boxes or storage.” Manchin told Bash that it was “unbelievable” that the whole thing could have happened.