(UnitedVoice.com) – Last November, President Joe Biden’s personal attorneys discovered classified documents when they were moving the president’s belongings out of the Penn Biden Center in Washington, DC. They found the documents in a locked closet. The papers reportedly dated back to his time as vice president and senator. Subsequent searches of the president’s properties, including his home, turned up more classified material. Biden has now spoken to the special counsel about the documents.
Interview With Prosecutors
Special Counsel Robert Hur is investigating the president’s handling of classified documents. Attorney General Merrick Garland appointed Hur after calls from Republican lawmakers to do so.
A spokesperson for the White House counsel’s office, Ian Sams, told the press that Biden volunteered to sit down for an interview with Hur’s team. The interview took place at the White House over the course of two days on October 8 and 9. According to reports, the interrogation could indicate that the investigation is nearing the end.
Sams said the president is “cooperating with [the] investigation” and has “provided relevant updates publicly.” The spokesperson went on to say that they are being as “transparent” as possible while also “protecting and preserving the integrity of the investigation.” He referred all other questions to the Department of Justice.
The development was the first the American public has heard about in months.
The Documents
The first set of documents was found on November 2 at the Penn Biden Center. According to reports, the president used that office from mid-2017 until he jumped into the presidential race. It’s not clear how many were discovered, but they have been described as a “small number of documents.” More material was also found at Biden’s home in Delaware.
Upon discovery, the classified documents in question were immediately sent to the National Archives.
Precedent
Biden isn’t the first president to sit down for an interview with the DOJ. Former President Donald Trump refused to be interviewed by Special Counsel Robert Mueller during the Trump-Russia investigation. It was within his constitutional rights to refuse to speak to the investigators.
Former President George W. Bush spoke to investigators for 70 minutes during a probe into the leak that outed CIA Agent Valerie Plame. Her name was allegedly leaked to the press in retaliation against her husband, journalist Joseph Wilson.
Former President Bill Clinton underwent hours of interrogation with Special Counsel Kenneth Starr, who was investigating the White Water scandal and discovered the Monica Lewinsky affair.
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