Another batch of classified Joe Biden documents found – US media reports
A second batch of classified government documents – at a second location – have been found by President Joe Biden’s aides.
The first batch of documents was found at a private office in Washington DC – an office that Biden used after his vice presidency.
The matter, now being reviewed by the US Department of Justice, is proving to be a growing political embarrassment for the White House.
Former president Donald Trump is currently facing a criminal investigation into the mishandling of classified files. The FBI carried out an unprecedented search of Trump’s residence at his Mar-a-Lago home in Florida to find classified documents it believed he had taken from the White House.
It’s not clear where or when the new files were found.
The original batch of files, about 10 documents, were found in November at the Penn Biden Center – a think tank near the White House. But the news was only released this week. Those papers are said to include US intelligence memos and briefing materials related to Ukraine, Iran and the UK.
The White House has not yet commented on the second batch of files. But the find has been confirmed by CBS and other US media.
President Joe Biden’s press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre declines to answer questions about the first batch found.
“This is under review by the Department of Justice,” she said. “I’m not going to go beyond what the president shared yesterday.”
Mr Biden said on Tuesday he was “surprised” by the discovery of the records and was “co-operating” with the justice department’s review.
‘Accountability is coming’ say Republicans
The new controversy comes as Biden faces scrutiny from the new Republican-led majority in the US House of Representatives.
“Now that Democrats no longer have one-party rule in Washington, oversight and accountability are coming,” James Comer, the new chairman of the House Oversight Committee, said on Wednesday.
With a Republican House, there will now be many inquiries launched into the president and his family.
The law requires that all White House records, including classified ones, be turned over to the US National Archives after an administration’s time in office.
