US intelligence material on Ukraine, Iran and UK found in Biden’s private office, source tells CNN

CNN
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Materials found in a private office last fall when Joe Biden was vice president included U.S. intelligence memos and 10 classified documents covering topics including Ukraine, Iran and the United Kingdom, a source familiar with the matter said.

Attorney General Merrick Garland received a preliminary report on the documents and now faces a critical decision on how to proceed, including launching a full-scale criminal investigation, a police source said.

John Lash Jr., the U.S. attorney in Chicago, briefed Garland several times. No further briefings are planned but will be held if necessary, a source said.

According to informed sources, the classified documents are dated between 2013 and 2016. They contained three or four boxes of documents not classified under the Presidential Records Act.

Most of the items in the office include personal papers of the Biden family. Beau BidenFunerals and obituaries, the source told CNN. It is not clear whether the boxes containing the classified documents contained personal items.

Attorney General Merrick Garland appointed the U.S. attorney in Chicago, controlled by the Trump administration, to investigate the matter, CNN previously reported. Garland made the change after receiving a recommendation from the National Archives and Records Administration.

The documents were discovered on November 2, six days before the midterm elections, but the matter only became public on Monday due to press reports.

Biden’s personal attorney is closing the downtown DC office Biden used as part of his work at the University of Pennsylvania, a source told CNN. The lawyer looked at a manila folder labeled “Private,” opened the envelope, and noticed confidential documents inside. The lawyer sealed the envelope and called Nara, the source said.

After contacting Nara, Biden’s team moved several boxes as a precaution, though many contained personal items, the source said.

Lash has already completed the initial part of his investigation and presented his preliminary findings to Garland, a police source said.

This means Garland must now decide how to proceed. Garland was personally involved in making some of the key decisions related to the investigation of the Trump documents and the decision to send the FBI to search Mar-a-Lago.

The people explained that Garland was one of two remaining U.S. attorneys appointed by Trump to lead the investigation into Lash Biden’s documents and to avoid a conflict of interest because he was not appointed by Biden.

In addition to Garland, Lash conducted additional briefings with other Justice Department officials.

At this point, Lash is expected to do no more “fact-gathering.”

In an awkward moment on Monday, Garland sat down with Biden at a diplomatic summit in Mexico as reporters raised questions about the investigation. Both ignored the questions.

Lash was one of the Trump-era incumbents not asked to resign after Biden takes office in 2021, and both Illinois Democratic senators supported Michael’s decision to keep him in office because of how he handled the politically sensitive investigation. Madigan, a former Democratic speaker of the Illinois House, was indicted on corruption charges.

Clarification: The story has been updated to specify where the classified documents were found in Biden’s office.

This story has been updated with additional details.