What do we know about the Biden classified documents? Vice President access, visitor logs and voluntary submission
After classified materials were found at the President’s private residence, the Justice Department has launched an investigation into document mishandling.
At least 20 pages of classified documents have been found at President Joe Biden’s private residence and his Washington office, the White House has now acknowledged.
Over the course of the past three months, Biden’s team have voluntarily submitted three batches of classified materials to the National Archives and the Department of Justice. The latest tranche was a collection of six pages found in Biden’s private library at his home in Wilmington, Delaware.
Previously, documents had been found at the Penn Biden Center in Washington, where he kept offices during his time as Vice President. In December a small number of classified documents were found in his private garage, again at the Wilmington residence.
All documents appear to have been turned over to the proper authorities as soon as they were identified by members of Biden’s team, but the news has proved a considerable embarrassment to the President. Last week Attorney General Merrick Garland appointed Robert Hur, a former US attorney, to serve as a special counsel in an investigation into document mishandling during the Obama administration.
Can Vice Presidents have classified documents?
These recent discoveries, along with similar finds at Donald Trump’s Mar-A-Lago estate last summer, have shone fresh light on the classification process of the US government. Everyone is familiar with the notion of ‘Top Secret’ documents, but what to the distinctions actually mean?
The system has been in place for decades but was updated by President Obama to prescribe a “united system for classifying, safeguarding, and declassifying national security information,” splitting them into three distinct tiers:
- Top Secret
- Secret
- Confidential
Members of the government, military and Secret Service can be granted access to classified information, but must first sign a non-disclosure agreement to ensure that they are trained in the handling of sensitive documents.
The level of access is different for different people, but by law all Presidents, Vice Presidents and a select few other senior officials are guaranteed access to allow classified information. This continues indefinitely and does not end when they leave office.
However they may not remove or copy classified documents with specific authorisation to do so.
Why are there no visitors’ logs at Biden’s house?
The similarities between Biden’s mishandling claims and the documents found at Trump’s residence have inflamed partisan tensions. Biden, who offered a withering response when asked about Trump’s claims back in August, has faced accusations of hypocrisy from Republicans in Congress.
One of the most vocal critics has been Rep. Lauren Boebert, who in recent days has demanded to see “visitor logs” from Biden’s home.
GOP House Oversight Committee Chairman, Rep. James Comer, wrote to the White House over the weekend, saying: “Without a list of individuals who have visited his residence, the American people will never know who had access to these highly sensitive documents.”
However not only is there no visitor log for his Wilmington residence, but there is no practice of keeping a record of visitors to the private homes of any President. Likewise, the FBI confirmed during the course of the probe into Trump’s document handling that there was no record of visitors to Mar-A-Lago to investigators.