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Topline
The Federal Bureau of Investigation is planning to search former Vice President Mike Pence’s Indiana home for classified documents in the coming days, according to multiple reports, in yet another FBI visit to a top official’s house after a similar inspection of President Joe Biden’s vacation home Wednesday did not uncover any sensitive records.
Then-Vice President Mike Pence greets the press on April 14, 2018 in Lima, Peru. (Photo by Manuel … [+]
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Key Facts
The Justice Department and Pence’s lawyers are reportedly still working out details of the search, which is not expected to involve prosecutors obtaining a warrant.
Pence’s lawyer said last week that several classified documents were found at the former vice president’s Carmel, Indiana, home and quickly turned over to authorities.
The attorney, Greg Jacob, told the National Archives the documents arrived there by accident, claiming Pence was “unaware of the existence of the records.”
The FBI declined to comment and the Justice Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Forbes.
Key Background
The discovery of classified documents at Pence’s house came weeks after the White House acknowledged sensitive records were found inside Biden’s former private office at the Penn Biden Center in Washington, which has snowballed into a larger legal issue for the president. Attorney General Merrick Garland appointed a special counsel on January 12 to oversee the investigation into Biden’s potential mishandling of classified records, after another tranche of documents were found at Biden’s home in Wilmington, Delaware. Like Pence, Biden has claimed the records were kept by accident, and the White House has said the special counsel probe will find there was no wrongdoing. The Justice Department has not stated Pence is the subject of any formal probe.
Tangent
Many Republicans have compared the discovery of classified documents at Pence’s and Biden’s homes to the investigation into former President Donald Trump’s alleged mishandling of records, but Trump’s situation has some key differences. Representatives for Pence and Biden have said only a handful of classified records were discovered, which were immediately turned over to authorities. Trump, meanwhile, had hundreds of classified records seized during an FBI raid in August after the Justice Department said he spent months dodging a subpoena legally requiring him to turn over the documents. Trump has also denied any wrongdoing, claiming—without evidence—he declassified the documents before leaving office. Presidents and their administrations are required to turn over sensitive records to the National Archives upon leaving office in accordance with the Presidential Records Act.
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Surprising Fact
The National Archives sent letters to former presidents and vice presidents last week asking them to carry out searches for classified records.
Further Reading
FBI Finds No Classified Documents At Biden’s Rehoboth Home, His Lawyer Says (Forbes)
Classified Documents Found At Mike Pence’s Home (Forbes)
Biden: ‘I Don’t Know’ Contents Of Classified Documents Found In Private Office (Forbes)
Special Counsel Appointed To Investigate Biden’s Handling Of Classified Material (Forbes)
Biden’s Team Finds Another Batch Of Government Records After Discovering Classified Docs In Private Office, Reports Say (Forbes)
Mar-A-Lago Raid: FBI Investigating Whether Trump Violated These 3 Statutes (Forbes)
National Archives Asks Former Presidents And Vice Presidents To Search For Classified Records (Forbes)
