Obama administration ethics chief Walter Shaub slammed President Joe Biden during an interview this week after classified documents were found in his home and a think tank bearing his name.
“It’s nothing like Trump’s deliberate refusal to return classified records demanded by the National Archives, but Biden’s own retention of classified records reflects an inexcusable neglect of the most basic security protocols,” Shaub told Fox News. “The fact that the White House didn’t mention that records were found in more than one location when first asked about them was a breach of trust with the public and a self-inflicted wound.”
“Based on what we know so far, it seems unlikely that he’s at risk of any of legal consequences,” Shaub claimed, “but I’m glad Garland appointed a special counsel to show even-handed treatment of the current and former president.”
U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland announced Thursday that he appointed former U.S. Attorney Robert Hur — who served during the Trump administration — to serve as special counsel in the investigation after the U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois John Lausch, who was assigned to do an initial review of the case, recommended to Garland that a special counsel be appointed.
The review began sometime after Biden’s personal attorney found 10 classified documents stashed in an envelope in the president’s private office at the Penn Biden Center for Diplomacy and Global Engagement in Washington. The attorney discovered the envelope on November 2, though the discovery was not made public until earlier this week. The documents were immediately turned over to the National Archives for storage, said Richard Sauber, special counsel to the president.
Sauber said in a separate statement that a search of Biden’s known offices, quarters, and other spaces turned up a second set of classified documents, these located at the president’s home in Wilmington, Delaware.
Tim Pearce contributed to this report.