JAKARTA - President Joe Biden said on Tuesday he was shocked to learn of the discovery of classified documents found at his former office at the Penn Biden Center for Diplomacy and Global Engagement, saying he and his team were fully cooperative to review what happened.
In a press statement with the President of Mexico and the Prime Minister of Canada on the sidelines of a meeting of North American national leaders, President Biden said he was handling classified documents seriously. He admitted that he did not know the contents of the document.
"We are fully cooperative regarding the review, which I hope will be completed soon," President Biden said.
A Democrat, President Biden has faced criticism from Republicans after the Justice Department launched an investigation last year against the handling of a classified Republican former President Donald Trump document found by his Mar-a-Lago, Palm Beach, Florida.
However, these two problems are considered different in several ways.
President Biden's lawyers found less than a dozen secret records in his former office, then notified the US National Archives of their discovery, submitted material, and said they were working closely with the Archives and the Department of Justice.
President Biden is known to periodically use the office space from mid-2017, after his term as vice president for Democrat President Barack Obama ended, until the start of the 2020 presidential election campaign.
In contrast, Trump keeps thousands of government records, several hundred of which are characterized as secrets, within his residence in Florida for more than a year after leaving the White House. It was neither immediately returned nor voluntarily, despite the many requests from the National Archives.
When Trump finally handed over 15 boxes of records in January 2022, the National Archives found more than 100 boxes had been marked as secrets. The agency then referred the matter to the Department of Justice.
Investigators tried to get Trump to return the remaining secret records through a jury court summons and Mar-a-Lago's visit. During the visit, Trump's adviser returned several dozen additional secret records, and proved that no other classified material was left at the residence.
Suspicious there are still other documents, the FBI sought and obtained court approval in August, to search Trump's home in Florida, where agents found more than 13,000 additional records, about 100 of which were highly classified.
US Attorney General Milik Garland also appointed Special Advisor Jack Smith in November to investigate the matter.
To prove the occurrence of a crime, investigators need evidence to show Trump or his colleagues knowingly and deliberately kept the note, and deliberately tried to obstruct the department's investigation to return it.
Separately, Republican Mike Turner of the House Intelligence Standing Committee sent a letter asking US Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines to "consider immediately and assess damage" to the case of President Biden's documents.
"The discovery of this confidential information will make President Biden potentially violating laws that protect national security, including the Spionage Act and the Presidential Records Act," Turner said in a statement.
Meanwhile, Stefanik, Trump's loyal ally who led the Republican causal, said in a statement the document raised serious questions about national security. He called it "disturbing", that they were submitted to the National Archives before the November part-time elections "the corrupt Department of Justice covered it up for two months."
President Biden defended the handling of the document.
"They found some documents in a box in a locked cupboard, or at least a cupboard. And once they did, they realized there were some secret documents in the box. And they did what they should have done. They immediately called the Archives," said President Biden.
"I was briefed on this discovery and surprised to learn that there was a government note taken there, to the office, but I don't know what the contents of the document were," he said.
"I have submitted the boxes, they have submitted the boxes to the Archives, and we are fully cooperative with the review, which I hope will be completed soon. And there will be more details at that time," President Biden said.
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