The White House announced on Saturday that President Joe Biden’s lawyers uncovered more classified papers at his residence in Wilmington, Delaware, than was previously reported. Biden’s private library was searched, and six pages of classified documents were discovered, as per a statement from White House attorney Richard Sauber. There was only one page discovered, according to prior statements from the White House.
The most recent revelation adds to the finding of documents from Biden’s tenure as vice president that were made in November at his old offices at the Penn Biden Center in Washington and in his garage in December. Former US attorney Robert Hur is investigating any possible improper handling of private information and government documents from the Obama administration.
The Justice Department has generally set a high threshold before filing criminal charges in situations involving the improper handling of classified material, with the requirement that someone must have had the intent to breach the law rather than have acted carelessly or negligently. It is a crime to “knowingly” remove classified papers and keep them in an unlawful manner, according to the main laws controlling their unauthorised removal and retention.
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The circumstances surrounding Biden are distinct from a separate inquiry into the improper handling of classified documents at former President Donald Trump’s Florida mansion and private club.
(With inputs from agencies)
