On Friday President Biden declared that there was “no there there” in the matter of his illegal possession of classified documents. This after the discovery of three or four such sets of docs in low places including the detached garage housing his Corvette at his Wilmington residence.
Last night news broke that yet another set of classified documents was found at Biden’s Wilmington home — this set including documents that date back to his days as a United States Senator (i.e., between January 1973 and January 2009). Are we getting “there” yet?
Among the outlets covering the story are the New York Times, the Associated Press, CNN, and The Hill. Essentially all that we know is based on statements released by Biden personal attorney Bob Bauer and White House Special Counsel Richard Sauber.
According to Bauer, the Department of Justice requested that the search not be made public in advance. Thus no stakeout or live coverage by CNN. All this was “in accordance with [DOJ’s] standard procedures, and we agreed to cooperate.” The Times adds that “Bauer did not indicate what had prompted the search, saying only that the president’s lawyers had offered to provide access for a search ‘in the interest of moving the process forward as expeditiously as possible.’”
The search took place over nearly 13 hours Friday. During the search “DOJ took possession of materials it deemed within the scope of its inquiry, including six items consisting of documents with classification markings and surrounding materials, some of which were from the President’s service in the Senate and some of which were from his tenure as Vice President. DOJ also took for further review personally handwritten notes from the vice-presidential years.”
Bauer added: “DOJ had full access to the President’s home, including personally handwritten notes, files, papers, binders, memorabilia, to-do lists, schedules, and reminders going back decades. DOJ took possession of materials it deemed within the scope of its inquiry….”
The Times notes that “Bauer did not make clear in his statement where in the Wilmington home the documents had been found.” The Times drily observes: “The president’s lawyers have said they searched the Rehoboth Beach home earlier this month and found no relevant documents. Officials have not said whether Justice Department investigators plan to conduct another search of the property.”
The Hill reports that the search of the Wilmington residence was conducted by the FBI. We await the government’s release of a photo display of documents seized.
Statement from White House Counsel's Office on ongoing cooperation with the Justice Department: pic.twitter.com/LUUjgzuouL
— Ian Sams (@IanSams46) January 21, 2023
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