Classified documents found at former U.S. Vice President Pence's home
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[January 25, 2023]
By Jeff Mason
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Documents marked as classified were discovered at
former U.S. Vice President Mike Pence's Indiana home last week, and he
has turned those classified records over to the FBI, his attorney said
in letters seen by Reuters on Tuesday.
The attorney, Greg Jacob, sent a letter to the National Archives on Jan.
18 notifying them of the documents and in a separate letter on Jan. 22
notified the Archives that the FBI came to the former vice president's
home to collect them.
The discovery puts Pence in the company of his former boss, former
President Donald Trump, and President Joe Biden after documents with
classified markings were found at their residences.
Jacob said in the letter dated Jan. 18 to the National Archives that
"out of an abundance of caution" Pence had engaged outside counsel to
review records stored in his home after reports about the materials
found at Biden's residence.
"Counsel identified a small number of documents that could potentially
contain sensitive or classified information interspersed throughout the
records," Jacob wrote in the letter.
"Vice President Pence immediately secured those documents in a locked
safe pending further direction on proper handling from the National
Archives," he said. Pence's counsel did not review the contents of the
documents once they were determined to be marked classified, the letter
said.
In a separate letter dated Jan. 22, Jacob said the Justice Department
"bypassed the standard procedures and requested direct possession" of
the documents at Pence's residence.
With agreement by the former vice president, FBI agents came to his
Indiana home at 9:30 p.m. on Jan. 19 to collect the documents stored in
the safe, Jacob said.
Biden, whose documents dated from his time as vice president, and Trump,
who resisted turning over the items, leading to an FBI raid, are both
facing special counsel investigations by the Justice Department over
improper handling of classified materials.
During a presidential transition period, the records from each
administration are supposed to be turned over to the legal custody of
the U.S. National Archives. It is unlawful to knowingly or willfully
remove or retain classified material. Failure to properly store and
secure classified material poses risks to national security if it should
fall into the wrong hands.
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Former U.S. Vice President Mike Pence is interviewed by Kevin
Roberts, president of the Heritage Foundation, in front of an
audience at the Heritage Foundation in Washington, U.S., October 19,
2022. REUTERS/Leah Millis
POLITICAL FALLOUT
The Pence discovery may help ease the political fallout for Biden,
who had criticized Trump last fall for his handling of classified
materials, leading to charges of hypocrisy when documents at his
former office and his garage were found. The issue has become a
political liability for both men, who may face each other in a 2024
presidential race.
Republican Senator Lindsey Graham, a critic of Biden and an ally of
Trump, said he did not think any of the three men were intentionally
trying to compromise national security.
"But clearly we have a problem here. So hopefully when this is all
said and done, maybe we're overclassifying things, that may be part
of the problem," he said. "What became a political problem for
Republicans is now a national security problem for the country."
CNN first reported the story of the documents being found at Pence's
home.
A spokesman for former President Barack Obama told Reuters when
asked about possible classified documents or searches that his
office had been given a "clean bill of health" by the National
Archives.
The administration of George W. Bush "turned all Presidential
records over – both classified and unclassified – upon leaving the
White House," Bush spokesman Freddy Ford told Reuters.
(Reporting by Jeff Mason; additional reporting by Kanishka Singh,
Steve Holland and Patricia Zengerle in Washington; Editing by
Heather Timmons and Alistair Bell)
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