(UnitedVoice.com) – The FBI carried out a search warrant on former President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago residence in August 2022. The search was a culmination of a fight between the 45th POTUS and the National Archives and Records Administration. According to court documents, the former commander-in-chief took classified material from the White House when he left office and refused to return it. Why he kept the documents is at the center of a special counsel investigation.
Fast-forward several months. In January, the American people learned classified materials dating back to President Joe Biden’s days as Barack Obama’s vice president were found at the Penn Biden Center in November 2022. Many pundits questioned why the FBI didn’t search the current president’s property upon learning about the classified information that was found. A new report indicated federal authorities did search — it just wasn’t made public.
Biden’s Office Searched
According to a report by CBS News, the FBI carried out a search of the Penn Biden Center in November 2022. Two sources familiar with the probe claimed it was carried out a couple of weeks following the discovery of roughly 10 classified documents in Biden’s sixth floor office closet. It’s unclear whether the search resulted in any other findings. The FBI has kept mum about the entire incident.
In addition to the probe of Biden’s office, agents also searched his home in Wilmington, Delaware. This one was not carried out until months later, and still agents found more material the POTUS wasn’t supposed to have, including handwritten notes from his time in the Obama administration. On February 1, news broke that the FBI also searched the president’s vacation home in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware. No classified material was found in that location.
Differences in Searches
There are a number of differences in the way the searches of the two presidents were carried out. First, the FBI went through the legal process to obtain a search warrant via a federal judge to carry out the search of Mar-a-Lago. Trump also made the news about the search public after it took place, blasting the federal law enforcement agency, according to a report by the Associated Press at the time.
In Biden’s case, the president reportedly consented to all three searches of his properties and office. Unlike Trump, who spoke freely about the search of his home, the current POTUS said nothing.
The American people will now be left to decide whether they agree with the actions taken against the former and current presidents.
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