The House Judiciary Committee announced Friday an investigation into President Joe Biden‘s handling of classified documents.
Chairman Jim Jordan (R-OH) and Rep. Mike Johnson (R-LA) sent a letter to Attorney General Merrick Garland demanding documents and communications about Biden’s “mishandling of classified documents, including the apparently unauthorized possession of classified material.” They set a deadline on January 27.
Among the records sought by the lawmakers were documents and communications related to the appointment of former U.S. Attorney Robert Hur as special counsel. “The circumstances of this appointment raise fundamental oversight questions that the Committee routinely examines,” Jordan and Johnson wrote.
#BREAKING: @Jim_Jordan and @RepMikeJohnson launch first investigation into @JoeBiden’s classified documents scandal. pic.twitter.com/sR8E5J2ZTd
— House Judiciary GOP (@JudiciaryGOP) January 13, 2023
Garland announced Thursday that he appointed Hur to investigate Biden over classified documents that were found in an office in Washington, D.C., and in his home in Wilmington, Delaware, which dated back to Biden’s time as vice president.
The Judiciary Committee also said they want records about the initial review of the documents matter conducted by U.S. Attorney John Lausch, who recommended Garland appoint a special counsel, as well as various records from the Justice Department, FBI, or the White House.
The White House is “fully cooperating” with the National Archives and the Justice Department, Richard Sauber, special counsel to the president, said in a statement Thursday.
Sauber confirmed to the media that Biden’s personal attorneys discovered the first tranche on November 2, days before the midterm elections.
Biden told reporters this week he was “surprised” to learn about the initial classified documents discovery in his office at the Penn Biden Center think tank in Washington, D.C., and claimed he did not know what was in the documents. “People know I take classified documents or classified information seriously,” Biden claimed.
The documents found at his private academic office contained U.S. intelligence memos and briefing materials on Iran, Ukraine, and the United Kingdom, a source told CNN.
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