Classified documents keep showing up where they shouldn’t be.
The FBI search on Friday for additional classified documents at former Vice President Mike Pence’s home in Indiana — after others were found by his lawyers recently — followed the revelation of classified materials at President Joe Biden’s Delaware home and former office and the seizure last year of hundreds of documents marked classified from Mar-a-Lago, the Florida residence of former President Donald Trump.
A look at similarities and differences among the cases:
HOW MANY CLASSIFIED DOCUMENTS ARE WE TALKING ABOUT?
PENCE: “A small number of documents bearing classified markings” were discovered last week at Pence’s home north of Indianapolis, Pence’s lawyer, Greg Jacob, wrote in a Jan. 18 letter to the National Archives and Records Administration, shared with The Associated Press.
In all, four boxes containing copies of administration papers — two in which “a small number” of papers bearing classified markings were found, and two containing “courtesy copies of vice presidential papers” — were discovered, according to Jacob.
On Friday, an FBI search of Pence’s home in Carmel, Indiana, uncovered an additional document that contained one page with classified markings, according to Pence spokesperson Devin O’Malley.
BIDEN: It’s unclear precisely how many classified papers have been recovered from Biden’s home and former office. Richard Sauber, special counsel to the president, said this month that “a small number of documents with classified markings” were discovered on Nov. 2, 2022, in a locked closet at the Penn Biden Center for Diplomacy and Global Engagement, a think tank in Washington, as Biden’s personal attorneys were clearing out the offices.
Sauber said Jan. 12 that a second batch of documents with classified markings — a “small number,” he said — had been found in a storage space in Biden’s garage near Wilmington, Delaware, along with one document located in Biden’s personal library in his home. Days later, Sauber clarified that six pages, not a single one, had been found in the library.
During a nearly 13-hour search on Jan. 20, FBI agents searching Biden’s Delaware home located six additional items that contained documents with classified markings and also took possession of some of his handwritten notes, said Bob Bauer, a lawyer for the president.
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Joe Biden’s political future clouded by classified document probe
AP file
Jan. 20, 2017: Biden's two terms as vice president to President Barack Obama end.
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Joe Biden’s political future clouded by classified document probe
AP file
Mid-2017-2019: Biden periodically uses an office at the Penn Biden Center, a think tank in Washington.
AP file
Mid-2017-2019: Biden periodically uses an office at the Penn Biden Center, a think tank in Washington.
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Joe Biden’s political future clouded by classified document probe
AP file
Jan. 20, 2021: Biden is sworn in as president.
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Joe Biden’s political future clouded by classified document probe
AP file
Nov. 2, 2022: Biden's personal attorneys come across Obama-Biden administration documents in a locked closet while packing files as they prepare to close out Biden's office in the Penn Biden Center. They notify the National Archives.
Nov. 3, 2022: The National Archives takes possession of the documents.
Nov. 4, 2022: The National Archives informs the Justice Department about the documents.
AP file
Nov. 2, 2022: Biden's personal attorneys come across Obama-Biden administration documents in a locked closet while packing files as they prepare to close out Biden's office in the Penn Biden Center. They notify the National Archives.
Nov. 3, 2022: The National Archives takes possession of the documents.
Nov. 4, 2022: The National Archives informs the Justice Department about the documents.
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Joe Biden’s political future clouded by classified document probe
AP file
Nov. 8, 2022: Midterm elections.
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Joe Biden’s political future clouded by classified document probe
White House via AP, File
November-December 2022: Biden's lawyers search the president's homes in Wilmington, Delaware, and Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, to see if there are other documents from his vice presidency.
White House via AP, File
November-December 2022: Biden's lawyers search the president's homes in Wilmington, Delaware, and Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, to see if there are other documents from his vice presidency.
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Joe Biden’s political future clouded by classified document probe
AP file
Nov. 9, 2022: The FBI begins an assessment of whether classified information has been mishandled.
AP file
Nov. 9, 2022: The FBI begins an assessment of whether classified information has been mishandled.
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Joe Biden’s political future clouded by classified document probe
AP file
Nov. 14, 2022: Garland assigns U.S. attorney John Lausch to look into whether a special counsel should be appointed to investigate the matter.
AP file
Nov. 14, 2022: Garland assigns U.S. attorney John Lausch to look into whether a special counsel should be appointed to investigate the matter.
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Joe Biden’s political future clouded by classified document probe
AP file
Jan. 5, 2023: Lausch advises Garland he believes that appointing a special counsel is warranted.
AP file
Jan. 5, 2023: Lausch advises Garland he believes that appointing a special counsel is warranted.
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Joe Biden’s political future clouded by classified document probe
AP file
Jan. 9, 2023: CBS News, followed by other news organizations, reveals the discovery of the documents at the Penn Biden Center. The White House acknowledges that "a small number" of Obama-Biden administration records, including some with classified markings, were found at the center. It makes no mention of the documents found in Wilmington.
AP file
Jan. 9, 2023: CBS News, followed by other news organizations, reveals the discovery of the documents at the Penn Biden Center. The White House acknowledges that "a small number" of Obama-Biden administration records, including some with classified markings, were found at the center. It makes no mention of the documents found in Wilmington.
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Joe Biden’s political future clouded by classified document probe
AP file
Jan. 10: 2023: Biden for the first time addresses the document issue. During a press conference in Mexico City, he says he was "surprised to learn that there were any documents" in the Penn Biden Center and doesn't know what's in them. He does not mention the documents found in Wilmington.
Jan. 11, 2023: Biden's lawyers complete their search of Biden's residences, find one additional classified document in the president's personal library in Wilmington. NBC News and other news organizations reveal a second batch of documents has been found at a location other than the Penn Wilson Center.
AP file
Jan. 10: 2023: Biden for the first time addresses the document issue. During a press conference in Mexico City, he says he was "surprised to learn that there were any documents" in the Penn Biden Center and doesn't know what's in them. He does not mention the documents found in Wilmington.
Jan. 11, 2023: Biden's lawyers complete their search of Biden's residences, find one additional classified document in the president's personal library in Wilmington. NBC News and other news organizations reveal a second batch of documents has been found at a location other than the Penn Wilson Center.
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Joe Biden’s political future clouded by classified document probe
AP file
Jan. 12: 2023: Biden's lawyer informs Lausch that an additional classified document has been found. Richard Sauber, special counsel to the president, reveals publicly for the first time that documents were found in Biden's Wilmington garage and one document was found in an adjacent room. Garland announces that he has appointed Robert Hur, a former U.S. attorney in the Trump administration, to serve as special counsel.
AP file
Jan. 12: 2023: Biden's lawyer informs Lausch that an additional classified document has been found. Richard Sauber, special counsel to the president, reveals publicly for the first time that documents were found in Biden's Wilmington garage and one document was found in an adjacent room. Garland announces that he has appointed Robert Hur, a former U.S. attorney in the Trump administration, to serve as special counsel.
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FBI searched Joe Biden’s home, found 6 more documents marked classified
Jessica Christian, AP
Jan. 19, 2023: On a trip to tour California storm damage, President Joe Biden says there is "no there there" after the discovery of classified documents and official records at his home and former office. Biden says they "found a handful of documents were filed in the wrong place." Biden says he is "fully cooperating and looking forward to getting this resolved quickly.”
Jessica Christian, AP
Jan. 19, 2023: On a trip to tour California storm damage, President Joe Biden says there is "no there there" after the discovery of classified documents and official records at his home and former office. Biden says they "found a handful of documents were filed in the wrong place." Biden says he is "fully cooperating and looking forward to getting this resolved quickly.”
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FBI searched Joe Biden’s home, found 6 more documents marked classified
Carolyn Kaster, AP
Jan. 20: The FBI searches President Joe Biden's home in Wilmington, Delaware and locates six additional documents containing classified markings and also takes possession of some of his notes, the president's lawyer says. Authorities have complete access to the home and spend nearly 13 hours combing through handwritten notes, files, papers, binders, memorabilia, to-do lists and schedules.
Jan. 21: President Joe Biden’s lawyers publicly reveal the results of the Jan. 20 search.
Carolyn Kaster, AP
Jan. 20: The FBI searches President Joe Biden's home in Wilmington, Delaware and locates six additional documents containing classified markings and also takes possession of some of his notes, the president's lawyer says. Authorities have complete access to the home and spend nearly 13 hours combing through handwritten notes, files, papers, binders, memorabilia, to-do lists and schedules.
Jan. 21: President Joe Biden’s lawyers publicly reveal the results of the Jan. 20 search.
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FBI searching Biden’s Rehoboth Beach home, lawyer says. Live updates here.
Shannon McNaught/Delaware News Journal via AP, File
Feb. 1: The FBI is conducting a planned search of President Biden’s Rehoboth Beach, Delaware home.
Shannon McNaught/Delaware News Journal via AP, File
Feb. 1: The FBI is conducting a planned search of President Biden’s Rehoboth Beach, Delaware home.
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Empty folders marked classified among items found in FBI search of Trump home
AP file
Then-President Donald Trump left the White House for Florida ahead of President-elect Joe Biden's inauguration. According to the General Services Administration, members of Trump's transition team were responsible for packing items into boxes, putting boxes on pallets and shrink-wrapping those pallets so they could be transported.
Prior to shipping, GSA said it "required the outgoing transition team to certify in writing that the items being shipped were required to wind down the Office of the Former President and would be utilized as the Office transitioned to its new location in Florida."
GSA did not examine the contents of the boxes and "had no knowledge of the contents prior to shipping," according to an agency spokesperson. GSA was also not responsible for the former president's personal belongings, which were transported by a private moving company.
Under the Presidential Records Act, presidential records are considered federal property — not private — and are supposed to be turned over to the National Archives and Records Administration. Multiple federal laws govern the handling of classified and sensitive government documents, including statutes that make it a crime to remove such material and retain it at an unauthorized location.
AP file
Then-President Donald Trump left the White House for Florida ahead of President-elect Joe Biden's inauguration. According to the General Services Administration, members of Trump's transition team were responsible for packing items into boxes, putting boxes on pallets and shrink-wrapping those pallets so they could be transported.
Prior to shipping, GSA said it "required the outgoing transition team to certify in writing that the items being shipped were required to wind down the Office of the Former President and would be utilized as the Office transitioned to its new location in Florida."
GSA did not examine the contents of the boxes and "had no knowledge of the contents prior to shipping," according to an agency spokesperson. GSA was also not responsible for the former president's personal belongings, which were transported by a private moving company.
Under the Presidential Records Act, presidential records are considered federal property — not private — and are supposed to be turned over to the National Archives and Records Administration. Multiple federal laws govern the handling of classified and sensitive government documents, including statutes that make it a crime to remove such material and retain it at an unauthorized location.
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Empty folders marked classified among items found in FBI search of Trump home
AP file
After NARA realized that documents from Trump's presidency seemed to be missing from the material that it received as he left office, the agency requested the records from Trump on or about May 6, 2021, according to a heavily redacted affidavit made public Aug. 26, 2022.
AP file
After NARA realized that documents from Trump's presidency seemed to be missing from the material that it received as he left office, the agency requested the records from Trump on or about May 6, 2021, according to a heavily redacted affidavit made public Aug. 26, 2022.
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Empty folders marked classified among items found in FBI search of Trump home
AP file
The special agent in charge of NARA's Office of the Inspector General sent a referral to the Justice Department via email after a preliminary review of the boxes revealed numerous classified documents.
"Of most significant concern," they wrote, according to a heavily-redacted affidavit released last week, "was that highly classified records were unfoldered, intermixed with other records, and otherwise unproperly (sic) identified."
After an initial review of the NARA referral, the FBI opened a criminal investigation into the matter.
AP file
The special agent in charge of NARA's Office of the Inspector General sent a referral to the Justice Department via email after a preliminary review of the boxes revealed numerous classified documents.
"Of most significant concern," they wrote, according to a heavily-redacted affidavit released last week, "was that highly classified records were unfoldered, intermixed with other records, and otherwise unproperly (sic) identified."
After an initial review of the NARA referral, the FBI opened a criminal investigation into the matter.
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Empty folders marked classified among items found in FBI search of Trump home
AP file
Trump's Save America PAC released a statement insisting the return of the documents had been as "routine" and "no big deal."
Trump insisted the "papers were given easily and without conflict and on a very friendly basis," and added, "It was a great honor to work with NARA to help formally preserve the Trump Legacy."
AP file
Trump's Save America PAC released a statement insisting the return of the documents had been as "routine" and "no big deal."
Trump insisted the "papers were given easily and without conflict and on a very friendly basis," and added, "It was a great honor to work with NARA to help formally preserve the Trump Legacy."
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Empty folders marked classified among items found in FBI search of Trump home
AP file
The Justice Department sent a letter to Trump's lawyers seeking immediate access to the material, citing "important national security interest."
"Access to the materials is not only necessary for purposes of our ongoing criminal investigation, but the Executive Branch must also conduct an assessment of the potential damage resulting from the apparent manner in which these materials were stored and transported and take any necessary remedial steps," the department wrote.
Trump's lawyers requested an additional extension.
AP file
The Justice Department sent a letter to Trump's lawyers seeking immediate access to the material, citing "important national security interest."
"Access to the materials is not only necessary for purposes of our ongoing criminal investigation, but the Executive Branch must also conduct an assessment of the potential damage resulting from the apparent manner in which these materials were stored and transported and take any necessary remedial steps," the department wrote.
Trump's lawyers requested an additional extension.
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Empty folders marked classified among items found in FBI search of Trump home
AP file
Three FBI agents and a DOJ attorney went to Mar-a-Lago to collect additional material offered by a Trump attorney in response to the subpoena. They were given "a single Redweld envelope, double-wrapped in tape, containing the documents," according to an Aug. 30 filing.
That envelope, it was later found, contained 38 documents with classification markings, including five documents marked confidential, 16 marked secret and 17 marked top secret.
During the visit, the filing said, "Counsel for the former President offered no explanation as to why boxes of government records, including 38 documents with classification markings, remained at the Premises nearly five months after the production of the Fifteen Boxes and nearly one-and-a-half years after the end of the Administration."
Trump's lawyers also told investigators that all of the records that had come from the White House were stored in one location — a Mar-a-Lago storage room. Investigators were permitted to visit the room, but were "explicitly prohibited" from opening or looking inside any of the boxes, they reported, "giving no opportunity for the government to confirm that no documents with classification markings remained."
The Justice Department was also given a signed certification letter stating that a "diligent search" had been completed and that no documents remained.
AP file
Three FBI agents and a DOJ attorney went to Mar-a-Lago to collect additional material offered by a Trump attorney in response to the subpoena. They were given "a single Redweld envelope, double-wrapped in tape, containing the documents," according to an Aug. 30 filing.
That envelope, it was later found, contained 38 documents with classification markings, including five documents marked confidential, 16 marked secret and 17 marked top secret.
During the visit, the filing said, "Counsel for the former President offered no explanation as to why boxes of government records, including 38 documents with classification markings, remained at the Premises nearly five months after the production of the Fifteen Boxes and nearly one-and-a-half years after the end of the Administration."
Trump's lawyers also told investigators that all of the records that had come from the White House were stored in one location — a Mar-a-Lago storage room. Investigators were permitted to visit the room, but were "explicitly prohibited" from opening or looking inside any of the boxes, they reported, "giving no opportunity for the government to confirm that no documents with classification markings remained."
The Justice Department was also given a signed certification letter stating that a "diligent search" had been completed and that no documents remained.
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Empty folders marked classified among items found in FBI search of Trump home
AP file
The Justice Department filed an application for a search and seizure warrant of Mar-a-Lago, citing "probable cause" that additional presidential records and records containing classified information remained in various parts of the club.
"There is also probable cause to believe that evidence of obstruction" would be found, read the heavily-redacted copy of the affidavit laying out the FBI's rationale for the search.
The Justice Department also revealed in the Aug. 30 filing that it had found evidence "that government records were likely concealed and removed from the Storage Room and that efforts were likely taken to obstruct the government's investigation."
U.S. Magistrate Judge Bruce Reinhart in South Florida approved the application that same day.
AP file
The Justice Department filed an application for a search and seizure warrant of Mar-a-Lago, citing "probable cause" that additional presidential records and records containing classified information remained in various parts of the club.
"There is also probable cause to believe that evidence of obstruction" would be found, read the heavily-redacted copy of the affidavit laying out the FBI's rationale for the search.
The Justice Department also revealed in the Aug. 30 filing that it had found evidence "that government records were likely concealed and removed from the Storage Room and that efforts were likely taken to obstruct the government's investigation."
U.S. Magistrate Judge Bruce Reinhart in South Florida approved the application that same day.
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Empty folders marked classified among items found in FBI search of Trump home
AP file
The FBI executed the search at Mar-a-Lago, seizing 36 items of evidence, including boxes and containers holding more than 100 classified records, an order pardoning Trump ally Roger Stone and information about the "President of France."
Agents found classified documents both in the storage room as well as in the former president's office — including three classified documents found not in boxes, but in office desks.
They included items so sensitive that, "In some instances, even the FBI counterintelligence personnel and DOJ attorneys conducting the review required additional clearances before they were permitted to review certain documents."
"That the FBI, in a matter of hours, recovered twice as many documents with classification markings as the 'diligent search' that the former President's counsel and other representatives had weeks to perform calls into serious question the representations made in the June 3 certification and casts doubt on the extent of cooperation in this matter," the Justice Department wrote.
Trump and his allies, meanwhile, cast the search as a weaponization of the criminal justice system aimed at damaging him politically as he prepares for another potential White House run.
AP file
The FBI executed the search at Mar-a-Lago, seizing 36 items of evidence, including boxes and containers holding more than 100 classified records, an order pardoning Trump ally Roger Stone and information about the "President of France."
Agents found classified documents both in the storage room as well as in the former president's office — including three classified documents found not in boxes, but in office desks.
They included items so sensitive that, "In some instances, even the FBI counterintelligence personnel and DOJ attorneys conducting the review required additional clearances before they were permitted to review certain documents."
"That the FBI, in a matter of hours, recovered twice as many documents with classification markings as the 'diligent search' that the former President's counsel and other representatives had weeks to perform calls into serious question the representations made in the June 3 certification and casts doubt on the extent of cooperation in this matter," the Justice Department wrote.
Trump and his allies, meanwhile, cast the search as a weaponization of the criminal justice system aimed at damaging him politically as he prepares for another potential White House run.
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Empty folders marked classified among items found in FBI search of Trump home
AP file
Judge Reinhart unsealed the warrant that authorized the FBI to search Mar-a-Lago, which details that federal agents were investigating potential violations of three federal laws, including the Espionage Act.
AP file
Judge Reinhart unsealed the warrant that authorized the FBI to search Mar-a-Lago, which details that federal agents were investigating potential violations of three federal laws, including the Espionage Act.
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Empty folders marked classified among items found in FBI search of Trump home
AP file
A highly redacted version of the affidavit laying out the FBI's rationale for searching Mar-a-Lago was released.
AP file
A highly redacted version of the affidavit laying out the FBI's rationale for searching Mar-a-Lago was released.
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Empty folders marked classified among items found in FBI search of Trump home
Department of Justice via AP
The Justice Department responded to Trump's request for a special master in a filing that included new details about the investigation, including an assertion that classified documents were "likely concealed and removed" from a storage room at Mar-a-Lago as part of an effort to obstruct the probe.
It included a photograph of some the material found at the club, including cover pages of paperclip-bound documents — some marked as "TOP SECRET//SCI" with bright yellow borders and one marked as "SECRET//SCI" with a rust-colored border — splayed out on a carpet at Mar-a-Lago.
"Terrible the way the FBI, during the Raid of Mar-a-Lago, threw documents haphazardly all over the floor (perhaps pretending it was me that did it!), and then started taking pictures of them for the public to see," Trump responded. "Thought they wanted them kept Secret?"
Department of Justice via AP
The Justice Department responded to Trump's request for a special master in a filing that included new details about the investigation, including an assertion that classified documents were "likely concealed and removed" from a storage room at Mar-a-Lago as part of an effort to obstruct the probe.
It included a photograph of some the material found at the club, including cover pages of paperclip-bound documents — some marked as "TOP SECRET//SCI" with bright yellow borders and one marked as "SECRET//SCI" with a rust-colored border — splayed out on a carpet at Mar-a-Lago.
"Terrible the way the FBI, during the Raid of Mar-a-Lago, threw documents haphazardly all over the floor (perhaps pretending it was me that did it!), and then started taking pictures of them for the public to see," Trump responded. "Thought they wanted them kept Secret?"
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Talk of Trump 2024 run builds as legal pressure intensifies
AP
Former President Donald Trump
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Talk of Trump 2024 run builds as legal pressure intensifies
AP
Former Vice President Mike Pence
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Talk of Trump 2024 run builds as legal pressure intensifies
AP
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis
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Talk of Trump 2024 run builds as legal pressure intensifies
AP
Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Missouri
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Talk of Trump 2024 run builds as legal pressure intensifies
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Talk of Trump 2024 run builds as legal pressure intensifies
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Former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley
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Talk of Trump 2024 run builds as legal pressure intensifies
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South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem
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Talk of Trump 2024 run builds as legal pressure intensifies
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Former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo
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Talk of Trump 2024 run builds as legal pressure intensifies
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TV personality Tucker Carlson
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Talk of Trump 2024 run builds as legal pressure intensifies
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Talk of Trump 2024 run builds as legal pressure intensifies
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Talk of Trump 2024 run builds as legal pressure intensifies
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Sen. Rick Scott, R-Florida
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Talk of Trump 2024 run builds as legal pressure intensifies
AP
Sen. Tim Scott, R-South Carolina
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Talk of Trump 2024 run builds as legal pressure intensifies
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Talk of Trump 2024 run builds as legal pressure intensifies
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Rep. Dan Crenshaw, R-Texas
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Talk of Trump 2024 run builds as legal pressure intensifies
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Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-New York
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Talk of Trump 2024 run builds as legal pressure intensifies
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Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Arkansas
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Talk of Trump 2024 run builds as legal pressure intensifies
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Talk of Trump 2024 run builds as legal pressure intensifies
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Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan
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Talk of Trump 2024 run builds as legal pressure intensifies
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Talk of Trump 2024 run builds as legal pressure intensifies
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Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Florida
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Talk of Trump 2024 run builds as legal pressure intensifies
AP
Sen. Ben Sasse, R-Nebraska
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Talk of Trump 2024 run builds as legal pressure intensifies
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Talk of Trump 2024 run builds as legal pressure intensifies
AP
Candace Owens, conservative activist
TRUMP: Roughly 300 documents with classification markings — including some at the top secret level — have been recovered from Trump since he left office in January 2021.
In January 2022, the National Archives retrieved 15 boxes of documents, telling Justice Department officials they contained “a lot” of classified material. In August, FBI agents took more than 33 boxes and containers totaling 11,000 documents from Mar-a-Lago, including roughly 100 with classification markings found in a storage room and an office.
HOW QUICKLY WERE THE CLASSIFIED DOCUMENTS TURNED OVER?
PENCE: Jacob said the records were discovered by Pence lawyers on Jan. 16, secured in a locked safe and retrieved by FBI agents on Jan. 19. The four boxes of papers were delivered to the Archives on Jan. 23.
BIDEN: After the materials were discovered at the think tank on Nov. 2, Biden’s personal attorneys immediately alerted the White House counsel’s office, which notified the National Archives, Sauber said. The Archives took custody of the documents the next day.
Biden’s personal lawyers then began examining other locations where records might have been shipped after Biden left the vice presidency in 2017. They found documents on Dec. 20 in his Wilmington garage and on Jan. 11 and 12 in his home library.
Sauber said that the Justice Department was “immediately notified” and took custody of the records.
On Jan. 20, Biden voluntarily allowed the FBI to search his Wilmington home, where additional documents were located.
TRUMP: A Trump representative told the National Archives December 2021 that presidential records had been found at Mar-a-Lago, nearly a year after Trump left office. Fifteen boxes of records containing some classified material were transferred to the Archives in January.
A few months later, investigators from the Justice Department and FBI visited Mar-a-Lago to get more information about classified materials taken to Florida. Federal officials served a subpoena for some documents believed to be at the estate.
In August 2022, FBI agents conducting a search retrieved 33 boxes from Mar-a-Lago while executing a warrant that showed they were investigating possible crimes including the willful retention of national defense information and efforts to obstruct the federal probe.
The search came after lawyers for Trump provided a sworn certification that all government records had been returned.
WHAT ABOUT POSSIBLE CHARGES?
PENCE AND BIDEN: There is no indication either was aware of the existence of the records before they were found and turned over.
It appears both turned over the records quickly, without intent to conceal. That’s important because the Justice Department historically looks for willfulness, or an intent to mishandle government secrets, in deciding whether to bring criminal charges.
In Biden’s case, even if the Justice Department were to find the case prosecutable on the evidence, its Office of Legal Counsel has concluded that a president is immune from prosecution during his time in office. Former special counsel Robert Mueller cited that guidance in deciding not to reach a conclusion on whether Trump should face charges as part of the investigation into coordination between the 2016 Trump campaign and Russia.
Carolyn Kaster
The access road to President Joe Biden's home in Wilmington, Del., is seen from the media van Friday, Jan. 13, 2023. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)
On Jan. 12, Attorney General Merrick Garland appointed a special counsel to investigate the discovery of documents in Biden’s possession. Robert Hur, the Trump-appointed former U.S. attorney in Maryland, will lead the investigation.
TRUMP: The former president possibly faces exposure for obstruction over the protracted battle to retrieve the documents. And, since he’s no longer in office, he wouldn’t be afforded protections from possible prosecution.
In November, Garland appointed Jack Smith, a veteran war crimes prosecutor with a background in public corruption probes, to lead investigations into Trump’s retention of classified documents, as well as key aspects of a separate probe involving the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection and efforts to undo the 2020 election.
WHAT HAVE THE THREE MEN HAD TO SAY?
PENCE: In August, Pence told The Associated Press that he did not take any classified information with him when he left office, answering, “No, not to my knowledge” when asked directly if he had retained any such information.
As vice president, Pence would have had the power to declassify some documents, though he hasn’t said that he did.
On Friday, spokesperson O’Malley said the former vice president and his legal team “fully cooperated with the appropriate authorities and agreed to a consensual search of his residence.”
Michael Conroy
Police secure the entrance to the neighborhood of former Vice President Mike Pence's Indiana home, Friday, Feb. 10, 2023 in Carmel, Ind. The FBI is searching former Vice President Mike Pence’s Indiana home as part of a classified records probe. That's according to two people familiar with the search who were not authorized to discuss it and spoke on condition of anonymity. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)
BIDEN: Biden said earlier this month he was “surprised to learn” that documents had been found at his think tank. He said he didn’t know what was in the material but takes classified documents “very seriously.”
His team “did what they should have done,” Biden said. “They immediately called the Archives.”
Biden told reporters at the White House Jan. 12 that he was “cooperating fully and completely” with a Justice Department investigation into how classified information and government records were stored.
TRUMP: Trump, who had the ability when he was president to declassify documents, has contended at times that he did so regarding the documents that he took with him — though he has provided no evidence of that. He said in a Fox News interview in September that a president can declassify material “even by thinking about it.”
The former president has called the Mar-a-Lago search an “unannounced raid” that was “not necessary or appropriate” and represented “dark times for our nation.”
Lynne Sladky
Former President Donald Trump arrives for a New Years Eve party at Mar-a-Lago, in Palm Beach, Fla., Saturday, Dec. 31, 2022. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)
WHAT ARE THE POLITICAL IMPLICATIONS?
PENCE: As he lays the groundwork for a possible 2024 White House bid, the document discovery thrusts Pence into the debate over the handling of secret materials by officials who have served in the highest ranks of government. He had previously insisted that he followed stringent protocols regarding classified documents.
BIDEN: His document disclosure could intensify criticism by Republicans and others who say that if Trump is guilty of anything, so is he.
There are also possible ramifications in a new, GOP-controlled Congress where Republicans are promising to launch widespread investigations of Biden’s administration.
House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, a California Republican, has said, “I think Congress has to investigate this.” The top Republican on the House Intelligence Committee, Ohio Rep. Mike Turner, has requested that intelligence agencies conduct a “damage assessment” of potentially classified documents.
TRUMP: The documents probe is one of many that complicate the former president’s bid for the White House in 2024, particularly after it became clear that the DOJ had launched a criminal investigation into the retention of top secret government information.
Trump and his supporters have described the Mar-a-Lago search as a partisan attack from Democrats.
During his 2024 campaign launch in November, at the same club agents had searched months earlier, Trump cast himself as a victim of wayward prosecutors and “festering, rot and corruption of Washington.”
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