President Joe Biden's Wilmington, Delaware, residence was searched by FBI agents on Friday, and further classified material was discovered, according to a statement from the president's personal counsel.
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| The access road to President Joe Biden's home in Wilmington, Del., is seen from the media van Friday, Jan. 13, 2023. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster) |
According to Bob Bauer, during the nearly 12-hour-long Friday search, "DOJ took possession of materials it considered within the scope of its inquiry, including six items consisting of documents with classification markings and surrounding materials, some from the President's service in the Senate and some from his time as Vice President. Additionally, the DOJ confiscated personal, handwritten notes from the vice presidential years for later study.
These six artifacts are in addition to those that have already been uncovered at Biden's home in Wilmington and in his office.
According to those briefed on the situation, the FBI searched the Bidens' property in Wilmington with the president's attorneys' approval. The Biden team revealed last week that the FBI previously took up materials discovered at the home.
The White House Counsel's Office and members of Biden's personal legal team were present during the "thorough search," according to Bauer, and they had "complete access" to the Biden residence.
In line with its regular operating standards, the DOJ "asked that the search not be made public in advance, and we agreed to cooperate," Bauer continued.
The FBI's search of Biden's residence demonstrates how quickly the investigation into the sensitive documents discovered in Biden's possession is progressing. Robert Hur, a special counsel who was appointed a little more than a week ago, is looking into how the president and his staff handled secret materials from the Obama administration that were recently discovered in Biden's personal possession. The first records were discovered on November 2 at Biden's office, but they weren't made public until earlier this month when CBS first reported on them.
The president's attorneys conducted a search of Biden's house in Wilmington on Friday, where they later discovered additional classified materials. When Biden's private attorneys discovered the classified materials, according to Bauer in a statement on January 11, they left the document in its original location and stopped searching the area in which it was discovered.
Biden and first lady Dr. Jill Biden were not present for the search, according to a statement from special counsel to the president Richard Sauber
As a result of how seriously he views the situation, Biden, according to Sauber, "has been dedicated to handle this appropriately," and he and his team are "working rapidly to ensure DOJ and the Special Counsel have what they need to conduct a complete assessment."
This weekend, Biden will be visiting his Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, residence. White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre directed reporters to the White House counsel's office and the Department of Justice when asked by the Associated Press on Friday if the visit had anything to do with documents discovered at Biden's Wilmington home, but she added that Biden "often travels to Delaware on the weekends."
Five months after obtaining a search warrant to search former President Donald Trump's Florida home, Mar-a-Lago, the FBI searched Biden's house. However, the search took place as a result of evidence provided by federal investigators that suggested Trump had not turned over all of the classified files in his possession to the National Archives after being served with a subpoena to do so.
This is a breaking story and will be updated.
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