Classified documents from previous presidential administrations have been discovered in the residences of President Joe Biden, former President Donald Trump, and former Vice President Mike Pence.
The number of documents retrieved, locations where documents were found, and the state of inquiries into the handling of the documents vary by the individual. Here is the latest information on the Biden, Trump, and Pence classified document findings.
A GUIDE TO REPUBLICAN INVESTIGATIONS INTO BIDEN’S CLASSIFIED DOCUMENTS SCANDAL
Former Vice President Mike Pence
Lawyers for Pence say they discovered two boxes of classified documents in his Indiana home on Jan. 18, along with another two boxes that had copies of vice presidential papers, according to CNN.
The classified materials were reportedly disclosed to the National Archives immediately upon discovery, with the archives informing the Justice Department of the matter. He also informed relevant congressional committees of the findings Tuesday, when the discovery of the documents was made public.
The number of classified documents is unknown, and the DOJ has not said if it has or will take action on the former vice president’s discovery of classified materials.
President Joe Biden
Classified documents from Biden’s time as vice president and as senator were found in two different locations in five batches.
The first discovery allegedly came when Biden’s lawyers were moving items out of his office at the Penn Biden Center in Washington, D.C., in November 2022, where lawyers say 10 classified documents were found. Subsequent discoveries came in December 2022 and January 2023 at the president’s residence in Wilmington, Delaware, where four batches of documents were found. The most recent batch was discovered during a nearly 13-hour search of the home by the FBI last week, where officials found six more documents.
The discovery of classified documents from the Obama administration in Biden’s possession became public earlier this month, with Attorney General Merrick Garland appointing Robert Hur as special counsel to investigate Biden for his alleged mishandling of the documents.
Former President Donald Trump
Classified documents being held at Trump’s personal residence at Mar-a-Lago came to light after the FBI searched the property in August 2022. The DOJ allegedly recovered roughly 300 documents from the search after the National Archives had suspicions the Trump team had not handed over all documents it believed were its property under the Presidential Records Act.
The DOJ confirmed that Trump was under investigation for his alleged mishandling of classified documents shortly after the search. Garland later assigned Jack Smith as special counsel to conduct the investigation into Trump’s handling of classified materials, among other investigations into the former president by the DOJ.
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Other former presidents and vice presidents are under scrutiny after the three discoveries, but so far, all have denied being in possession of classified documents from their time in office. On Tuesday, a report surfaced saying that former President Jimmy Carter found classified documents at his home “on at least one occasion” since he left office in 1981.
