Jan 31, 2023 - Politics & Policy

New details emerge in Biden classified docs timeline

Erin Doherty

. President Joe Biden speaks at the Baltimore and Potomac (B&P) Tunnel North Portal on January 30, 2023 — President Biden speaks at the Baltimore and Potomac Tunnel North Portal on Jan. 30. Photo: Drew Angerer/Getty Images

The FBI searched the Penn Biden Center in mid-November after the White House discovered classified documents there from President Biden's time as vice president, multiple outlets reported Tuesday — a detail that was not previously disclosed publicly by the White House.

The big picture: It remains unclear what, if anything, the FBI found during the mid-November search and why the White House, Department of Justice or Biden's personal counsel did not include it during previously provided timelines related to the case.

CBS News first reported on the November search.
The White House declined to comment and referred Axios to the Department of Justice. Axios has reached out to the DOJ.

Catch up quick: The White House previously shared details of an FBI search at Biden's Wilmington, Del. home, in January one day after the search occurred.

Zoom out: Attorney General Merrick Garland announced on Jan. 12 that he was appointing Robert Hur as special counsel to lead the investigation into Biden's classified documents.

The FBI launched an assessment on Nov. 9 to determine whether classified information had been "mishandled in violation of federal law," Garland said earlier this month.

After the initial discovery of classified documents at the Penn Biden Center, documents were also identified at two locations, including Biden's garage, inside the president's personal residence in Wilmington.
Republican strategists have said that the classified document discoveries for both Biden and former Vice President Mike Pence, who per his attorney had a "small number of [classified] documents" at his home in Indiana, are a political gift for Trump.

Go deeper... Calls for classified document reform mount after repeated discoveries

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New details emerge in Biden classified docs timeline

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