FBI searched Biden’s former private office in November after his team found classified documents
By Paula Reid and Devan Cole, CNN
The FBI searched President Joe Biden’s former think tank office in Washington in November after his team notified the National Archives that they found classified documents there, according to a Justice Department official and another source familiar with the matter.
The Justice official told CNN that a warrant wasn’t used to conduct the search, which was done with the consent of Biden’s legal team.
The White House and Biden’s legal team did not previously disclose the FBI’s November search, in contrast to a search conducted by the bureau earlier this month at Biden’s home in Wilmington, Delaware.
This latest revelation raises additional questions about how transparent the White House and Biden’s legal team have been about the government’s investigation into the president’s handling of classified documents, which is now being overseen by special counsel Robert Hur.
The search at the Penn Biden Center for Diplomacy and Global Engagement was part of an FBI “assessment” that the DOJ described in a timeline of events it released earlier this month, according to the official. In relaying that timeline earlier this month, Attorney General Merrick Garland said: “On November 9, the FBI commenced an assessment, consistent with standard protocols, to understand whether classified information had been mishandled in violation of federal law.”
CBS News first reported the news of the FBI’s search.
The FBI’s nearly 13-hour search of Biden’s home earlier this month was also done with the consent of the president’s attorneys, people briefed on the matter previously said. During that search, “six items consisting of documents with classification markings and surrounding materials.”
Those six items are in addition to materials previously found at Biden’s Wilmington residence and the ones found in his private office.
This story has been updated with additional details.
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CNN’s Phil Mattingly contributed to this report.
