According to multiple media outlets, which means the White House is staying out in front of this story, Joe Biden was interviewed by Special Counsel Robert Hur (pictured below left) about the classified documents located in his Delaware home, beach house and office in Pennsylvania. The documents stem from the time when Joe Biden was a senator and vice-president.
WASHINGTON DC – President Joe Biden has been interviewed by the special counsel team investigating how classified documents from his time as vice president ended up at his office and home, the White House said Monday night.
The interview was conducted at the White House on Sunday and Monday and was done voluntarily, the administration added.
“As we have said from the beginning, the President and the White House are cooperating with this investigation, and as it has been appropriate, we have provided relevant updates publicly, being as transparent as we can consistent with protecting and preserving the integrity of the investigation,” Ian Sams, spokesperson for the White House, said in a statement. (read more)
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From AG Merrick Garland remarks (emphasis mine):
[Transcript] […] “On the evening of November 4, 2022, the National Archives Office of Inspector General contacted a prosecutor at the Department of Justice. It informed him that the White House [Counsel] had notified the Archives that documents bearing classification markings were identified at the office of the Penn Biden Center for Diplomacy and Global Engagement, located in Washington, D.C. That office was not authorized for storage of classified documents. The prosecutor was also advised that those documents had been secured in an Archives facility.
On November 9, the FBI commenced an assessment, consistent with standard protocols, to understand whether classified information had been mishandled in violation of federal law.
On November 14, pursuant to Section 600.2(b) of the Special Counsel regulations, I assigned U.S. Attorney Lausch to conduct an initial investigation to inform my decision whether to appoint a Special Counsel.
Mr. Lausch has served as the U.S. Attorney in Chicago since 2017. Before that, he spent more than a decade as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in that same office. I selected him to conduct the initial investigation because I was confident his experience would ensure that it would be done professionally and expeditiously.
On December 20, President Biden’s personal counsel informed Mr. Lausch that additional documents bearing classification markings were identified in the garage of the President’s private residence in Wilmington, Delaware. President Biden’s counsel informed Mr. Lausch that those documents were among other records from the period of the President’s service as Vice President. The FBI went to the location and secured those documents.
On January 5, 2023, Mr. Lausch briefed me on the results of his initial investigation and advised me that further investigation by a Special Counsel was warranted. Based on Mr. Lausch’s initial investigation, I concluded that, under the Special Counsel regulations, it was in the public interest to appoint a Special Counsel. In the days since, while Mr. Lausch continued the investigation, the Department identified Mr. Hur for appointment as Special Counsel.
This morning [January 12, 2023], President Biden’s personal counsel called Mr. Lausch and stated that an additional document bearing classification markings was identified at the President’s personal residence in Wilmington, Delaware. [More]
The timeline doesn’t make sense. What was the FBI and John Lausch doing for two months? Something is not adding up.
If the FBI began investigating on November 9th, and USAO Lausch began investigating on November 14th, then why were Joe Biden’s lawyers informing Laush of additional classified documents found in Delaware on December 20th? Why did the FBI and Lausch not find them?
Why were Joe Biden’s Lawyers informing USAO Lausch, on January 12th, about the third batch of classified documents? Again, where was the FBI and John Lausch?
Also, you don’t appoint a Special Counsel on the day it is announced. There had to be some discussion with Robert Hur in the lead up to the announcement.
We still don’t know what the classified documents were about, how old they are, or how many of them exist. The only thing confirmed is the documents pertain to the timeline of the Obama-Biden administration which was January 2009 through January 2017.
The Penn-Biden Center didn’t exist until 2018, so where were the classified documents between the time they were taken and the time they were discovered in the office.
As Vice President Joe Biden had no authority to declassify government documents and could not possess classified documents.
Me and Suspicious Cat remain, well, suspicious…
