Classified documents found at ex-Vice President Mike Pence’s home
More classified files have been found in a private residence, this time in the home of former vice president Mike Pence. He joins a growing list of officials who have served in the top ranks of government, with secret files in their homes.
The documents were discovered by a lawyer last week for Mr Pence at his Indiana home and have been handed over to the FBI.
President Joe Biden and former president Donald Trump are both being looked into for possession of secret files.
Representatives for former vice president Pence sent a letter to the National Archives alerting them to the documents.
The FBI came to his home to collect the documents, bypassing “standard procedures” and requesting “direct possession” of them, lawyers said.
Under the Presidential Records Act, White House files are supposed to go to the National Archives once an administration ends.
A “small number of documents bearing classified markings” were “inadvertently boxed and transported” to Mr Pence’s home at the end of Mr Trump’s presidency, his lawyer wrote in a letter shared with US media.
Mr Pence has sought legal help from specialists in handling classified documents “out of an abundance of caution.”
He asked for help “after it became public that documents with classified markings were found in President Joe Biden’s Wilmington residence”, the letter read.
Lawyers found “a small number of documents that could potentially contain sensitive or classified information”, which were locked in a safe.
An aide to Mr Pence told CBS News the documents were stored in boxes in an insecure area of his home. The aide said they were taped shut.
US media says the documents are believed to have first been taken to Mr Pence’s home in Virginia before later being sent to Indiana.
Trump defends Mike Pence
Former President Donald Trump took to his social media platform – Truth Social, to defend Mike Pence.
Trump describes him as “an innocent man.”
“He never did anything knowingly dishonest in his life,” Mr Trump wrote. “Leave him alone!!!”
Mr Pence has said multiple times over the past few months that he did not believe he had any secret files in his possession.
