Yesterday afternoon, President Joe Biden officially broke his silence and spoke directly with reporters after news recently broke that classified documents were allegedly discovered at the president’s old office in Pennsylvania. Biden began by reassuring reporters and the American people that he takes classified documents and materials “very seriously,” quite unlike his predecessor, before adding that he was “surprised” by the discovery but confirmed that his legal team is “cooperating fully” with the reviews into the incident that have since been launched by the US Department of Justice as well as the National Archives and Records Administration.
Biden’s remarks came during a North American Leaders’ Summit in Mexico, where the US President stated matter-of-factly, “People know I take classified information seriously.”
President Biden went on to transparently explain that back in November 2022, his attorneys were cleaning out his old office at the Penn Biden Center for Diplomacy & Global Engagement, where they eventually and unexpectedly discovered documents bearing classified markings. Biden worked at the University of Pennsylvania center from 2017 to 2019.
According to reporting from the Washington Post, citing a source familiar with the situation and the investigation, approximately 10 documents with classified markings were discovered in the office.
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Biden explained, “They immediately called the Archives, immediately called the Archives, turned them over to the Archives and I was briefed about this discovery and surprised to learn that there were any government records that were taken there to that office.”
The president went on to add that he does not know the nature of the information contained in the discovered documents and has been advised by his legal team not to ask.
An inside source spoke with CNN on the heels of the revelation and said that the president was completely unaware of the document at his old office until his counsel advised him of the discovery as soon as the materials were found. The source went on to confirm that the president is not being made aware of what information was contained in the discovered documents, a move that was taken out of an abundance of caution, due to the fear that Biden being privy to that information could make it seem as though his legal team would possibly attempt to interfere in the Justice Department’s investigation into the matter.
Special counsel to President Biden, Richard Sauber, publicly confirmed the discovery of the classified documents on Monday, and noted that the materials “were not the subject of any previous request or inquiry by the Archives.”
See President Biden’s remarks on the matter here:
At North America Leaders’ Summit in Mexico City, Pres. Biden fields reporter’s question on discovery of classified documents: “We’re cooperating fully with the review.” https://t.co/cTpgZHqklW pic.twitter.com/O32JL21hNb
— ABC News Politics (@ABCPolitics) January 10, 2023
Featured image via screen capture
