Washington D.C
CNN
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An attorney for former Vice President Mike Pence discovered about a dozen classified documents at Pence’s home in Indiana last week and he turned those over to the FBI, multiple sources familiar with the matter said. with the matter told CNN.
The FBI and the Department of Justice’s National Security Division conducted a review of the documents and how they reached Pence’s home in Indiana.
The classified documents were discovered by Pence’s attorney at Pence’s new home in Carmel, Indiana following revelations of classified material discovered in the private office and residence of President Joe Biden, sources said. The discovery comes after Pence repeatedly said he did not possess any classified documents.
It is not yet clear what these documents are related to or their level of sensitivity or classification.
Pence’s team informed congressional leaders and relevant committees of the finding on Tuesday.
Pence asked his attorney with experience handling classified documents to conduct a careful search of his home. Sources say attorney Matt Morgan began inspecting four boxes stored at Pence’s home last week, finding a small number of documents marked classified.
Sources said Pence’s attorney immediately notified the National Archives. In return, the Archives notified the Department of Justice.
An attorney for Pence told CNN that the FBI asked for the classified documents that night and Pence agreed. Agents from the FBI’s field office in Indianapolis obtained documents from Pence’s home, attorneys said.
On Monday, Pence’s legal team drove the boxes back to Washington, DC and turned them over to the Archives to review the rest of the document for compliance with the Presidential Records Act.
in one letter for the National Archives obtained by CNN, Pence’s representative at the Archives Greg Jacob wrote that “a small number of documents bearing the mark of classification” were inadvertently boxed and shipped to the National Archives. the vice president’s house.
“Vice President Pence was unaware of the existence of sensitive or classified documents at his private residence,” Jacob wrote. “Vice President Pence understands the high importance of protecting sensitive and confidential information and stands ready and willing to fully cooperate with the National Archives and any appropriate investigation.”
According to sources, the classified documents were stored in boxes, which were first delivered to Pence’s temporary home in Virginia before they were shipped to Indiana. According to Pence’s attorney, the boxes were not in a safe zone, but they were taped and were not opened because they were packaged. After the classified documents were discovered, sources said they were placed inside a safe in the house.
Pence’s Washington, DC, advocacy group The office was also searched, Pence’s attorney said, and no classified documents or other records covered by the Presidential Records Act were discovered.
News of Pence comes as special counsels investigate both Biden and ‘s handling of classified documents Former President Donald Trump. These revelations also come amid widespread speculation that Pence is getting ready to run to become the Republican presidential nominee in 2024.
Since the FBI ransacked Trump’s Florida home for classified documents in August with a search warrant, Pence has said he did not keep any classified documents when he left office. “No, I don’t know,” he told Associated Press in August.
In November, Pence was asked by ABC News at his Indiana home whether he took any classified documents from the White House.
“I don’t,” Pence replied.
“Well, there’s no point in having classified documents, especially if they’re in an unprotected area,” Pence continued. “But I will tell you that I believe there must be better ways to deal with that than by executing a search warrant at the home of a former president of the United States.”
While Pence’s office as a whole has done a rigorous job while he’s away from office, it’s been to classify and deliver any classified and non-confidential documents covered by the Records Act. President, these classified documents appear to have inadvertently slipped through the process because most of the documents were packaged separately from the vice president’s whereabouts, along with Pence’s personal papers, the sources said. with ClNN.
The vice president’s residence at the United States Naval Observatory in Washington has a secure facility for handling classified documents along with other security measures, and normally classified documents will be there for the vice president. review system.
Some of the boxes at Pence’s home in Indiana were packed from the vice president’s mansion, while some arrived from the White House during the final days of the Trump administration, including last-minute stuff that went unprocessed during the Trump administration. the rest of Pence. document did.
The discovery of classified documents at Pence’s residence marks the third time in recent history that a president or vice president has inappropriately obtained classified documents after leaving office. Both Biden and Trump are currently being investigated by separate special advisers over their handling of classified documents.
Sources familiar with the process say Pence’s discovery of classified documents following the Trump-Biden controversy would suggest a more systemic issue involving classified documents and the Presidential Records Act , which requires official records from the White House to be turned over to the National Archives at the end of an administration.
On Friday, the FBI searched Biden’s Wilmington mansion for more classified documents, an unprecedented search of the home of a sitting president that uncovered six more items containing classified markers. The search came after Biden’s attorneys discovered the classified document in Wilmington following the initial discovery of the classified document at Biden’s private consulting office in November.
Biden’s attorneys said they are fully cooperating with the Justice Department, seeking to make a difference with the Trump investigation.
The FBI received a warrant to search Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort in August. Federal investigators took that step because they believe Trump failed to turn over all of the classified documents despite the fact that he did. subpoenas and concerns the records at Mar-a-Lago are being moved around.
Last week, Pence told Larry Kudlow in a Fox Business interview that he received the President’s Daily Brief at the vice president’s residence.
“I will wake up early. I’ll go to the safe, where my military aide will put those classified documents. I’ll pull them out, look at them,” Pence said. “I get a presentation for them and then, frankly, more often than not Larry, I simply give them back the file I received. They often went into what was called a burn bag that my military assistant would collect and then destroy those classified documents—the same goes for documents I received at the White House. ”
Congressional leaders in both parties were taken aback by the new revelations that Pence was also in possession of classified files at his home.
“I don’t get this,” said Senate Judiciary Chairman Dick Durbin.
“The bottom line is I don’t know how this happened, we need to get to the bottom of it,” said Sen. Lindsey Graham, a South Carolina Republican. “I don’t believe for a minute that Mike Pence is intentionally harming national security. But obviously we have a problem here.”
House Oversight Chairman James Comer, a Kentucky Republican who is investigating Biden’s classified documents, said in a statement that Pence had contacted him about the classified documents found. at his house.
“He has agreed to fully cooperate with congressional oversight and any questions we may ask on this matter,” Comer said, adding that Pence’s transparency was “totally contrary to the law.” opposite” to the Biden administration’s response to Congress over classified documents. Comer’s statement made no mention of classified Trump documents.
However, the former president stood up to Pence on Tuesday. “Mike Pence is an innocent man. He has never done anything intentionally dishonest in his life. Leave him alone!!!” Trump posted on his social media page.
