WASHINGTON — A new special counsel investigation into the discovery of classified documents in President Biden’s home and office puts him and his attorney general in dire straits, as another special counsel investigates his predecessor’s mishandling of classified documents.
Mr. Biden and former President Donald J. While the circumstances of the cases involving Trump are markedly different, as a political matter, the new trial is likely to be Mr. Muddying the case against Trump, he argues, was already elected. Harassed by a presidential administration, he plans to challenge in 2024.
Attorney General Merrick B. Garland sought to insulate the judiciary from accusations of partisanship. Robert K. how, a senior prosecutor and Trump appointee, Mr. The decision comes as the new GOP majority in the House faces aggressive scrutiny for what it says is the Biden administration’s use of government power against Republicans.
In ordering the appointment on Thursday, Mr. Garland, Washington Mr. Mr. Biden was asked to look into the “unauthorized removal and retention of classified documents or other records found” in Biden’s think tank and his home in Wilmington, Del. Appointed Hur.
The White House has promised full cooperation while insisting that prosecutors seek only accidental errors. Several Biden associates have already been interviewed, people close to the situation said.
“We believe that a thorough review will show that these documents were inadvertently misplaced, and that the president and his lawyers acted promptly upon discovering this mistake,” Richard Saber, the White House attorney overseeing responses to the probes, said in a statement.
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Mr. Under Garland’s order, Mr. Har is empowered.
“I will conduct the reserved hearing with fair, impartial and dispassionate judgement,” said Mr. Harr said in a statement. “I wish to pursue the facts promptly and thoroughly without fear or favour, and I honor the trust placed in me to perform this service.”
“Irresponsible” with national secrets, Mr. Mr. who scared Trump. Biden must now answer for his own team’s mishandling of sensitive documents. Mr. Unlike Trump, Mr. Biden has so far not resisted requests to return the known documents, and in fact his lawyers found them without being asked and promptly returned them. But the White House didn’t reveal the discovery to the public for two months, waiting until after the November midterm elections, before it could have damaged Democrats.
On Thursday Mr. According to the new timetable outlined by Garland, the White House did not fully disclose the extent of the situation in its original statement. The statement, released Monday, confirmed news media reports about the first batch of classified documents found in his think tank in November, but made no mention of the second batch found in December at his Delaware home.
Three days after that initial report, on Thursday, Mr. The White House confirmed news media reports about a second volume found in the garage of Biden’s home and a final document found nearby Wednesday night.
In an unrelated event on Thursday, Mr. When a reporter asked Biden why classified documents were kept with his prized Corvette, Mr. Biden replied: “My Corvette is in a locked garage. right? So it is not like they are sitting on the street,” he said.
“But as I said earlier this week, people know that I take classified documents and classified material seriously. I also said that we are fully and fully cooperating with the Justice Department’s review.
Reporting contributed Adam Goldman, Kate Benner, Jim Tankersley and Karoun Demirjian.
