New documents found at Biden’s home add to the embarrassment

Five more pages of classified documents have been found in Joe Biden’s family home, the White House said Saturday (14), in a discovery that amplifies anxiety stemming from an already sensitive issue for the US president. United States law prohibits former presidents and former vice presidents from keeping state documents in their possession after the expiration of their terms of office.

Five more pages of classified documents were found in a family’s home Joe BidenThe White House said on Saturday (14), in a discovery that amplifies the irritation generated by an already sensitive issue for the President of the United States. United States law prohibits former presidents and former vice presidents from keeping state documents in their possession after the expiration of their terms of office.

These newly disclosed documents, dating from Biden’s term as vice president from 2009 to 2017, were found in a room adjoining the garage of the family’s home — after the presidential attorney arrived Thursday night at the site, attorney Richard Sauber said in a news release. Biden was in attendance this weekend, as he usually does whenever his schedule allows.

Sauber said he went to the luxury estate in Wilmington, Delaware, to oversee the transfer to court of the first set of classified documents, which were found at the site on Wednesday. When searching the house on Wednesday, the defender recalls, the president’s personal attorneys found a page marked as a confidential document, in the same room next to the garage.

The law prohibits possession of files

According to the White House, the lawyers did not analyze the transcripts because they did not have the necessary clearances to review them, and they reported it to the Justice Department. A 1978 law requires US presidents and vice presidents to submit all emails, letters, and other business papers to the National Archives.

The president’s attorney, who is authorized to see classified documents, discovered five more pages when visiting the house, for a total of six. According to Richard Sauber, representatives of the Ministry of Justice who accompanied him “immediately” took away the documents.

In addition to files found in Biden’s private home, other classified documents were discovered last November at the Ben Biden Center, a think tank in Washington where Joe Biden once had an office. Records have also been handed over to justice.

On Thursday, Attorney General Merrick Garland appointed an independent attorney general to investigate the case. The files found in Wilmington were immediately reported to the White House, but it wasn’t until last Monday that he acknowledged the discovery of those in Washington — two months later.

Washington claims a “mistake” and talks about documents that Biden “inadvertently” took.

Annoyance amid the re-election decision

The CEO’s call — who waited for the information to be released to the press to acknowledge the results — makes the subject a sensitive subject for Joe Biden, as he decides whether to run for re-election.

The case, despite its many controversies, is reminiscent of that of the former president Donald Trump, who is also in the crosshairs of justice for taking official documents to his residence in Florida. The White House is trying to avoid any similarities: Joe Biden’s lawyers “acted promptly and voluntarily,” Richard Sauber asserted Saturday, while Trump is accused of concealing files.

The Republican opposition, weakened by internal strife, sees this controversy as an opportunity to restore some personality. The party intends to investigate the matter, through a House committee – chaired by newly elected Republican James Comer.

In an interview with Fox on Saturday, Kummer considered that “the Biden family (is) a national security risk,” referring to documents found in Wilmington and the president’s youngest son, Hunter Biden, a frequent target of the right.

With information from Agence France-Presse