DOJ Probing Classified Docs at Biden Center From When He Was VP

Two sources familiar with the inquiry said that Attorney General Merrick Garland assigned the U.S. attorney to Chicago to review classified documents at the Penn Biden Center for Diplomacy and Global Engagement, Washington. According to sources, the roughly 10 documents were from President Biden’s vice-presidential center office. CBS News discovered that the FBI is also involved with the U.S. attorney’s inquiry.

Richard Sauber, special counsel for the president, confirmed that Mr. Biden’s personal lawyers identified the classified material on November 2, just before the midterm election. The documents were discovered by Mr. Biden’s personal attorneys “were packing files housed in a locked closet to prepare to vacate office space at the Penn Biden Center in Washington, D.C.,” Sauber made the statement to CBS News. Sources claimed that the documents were in a file folder which was kept in a box with unclassified papers. Sources did not reveal the contents of classified documents or their classification level. CBS News was informed by a source that the classified documents did not contain any nuclear secrets. 

Sauber said also that the National Archives received the materials from the White House counsel’s Office on Nov. 2.

“The discovery of these documents was made by the President’s attorneys,” Sauber stated. “The documents were not the subject of any previous request or inquiry by the Archives. Since that discovery, the President’s personal attorneys have cooperated with the Archives and the Department of Justice in a process to ensure that any Obama-Biden Administration records are appropriately in the possession of the Archives.”

Sources familiar with the matter stated that representatives from National Archives informed the Justice Department. 

Garland assigned John Lausch, U.S. Attorney for Northern District of Illinois to determine how classified material reached the Penn Biden Center. This review is considered preliminary and the attorney general will decide if further investigation is required, including possibly appointing special counsel.  

Lausch was nominated by Trump as U.S. attorney. He is one of two Trump-era U.S. legal professionals still in service. Another is David Weiss (Delaware U.S. attorney), who is leading an investigation into Hunter Biden, the son of President Trump. 

Lausch has just briefed the attorney General and will ultimately submit a final report for Garland. The review is expected close soon. 

The Penn Biden Center, a think tank located about a mile from Washington, D.C.’s White House, is affiliated to the University of Pennsylvania. It is named after the current president. 

All presidential and vice-presidential papers must be submitted to the National Archives under the Presidential Records Act. You can use special protocols to ensure classified information is kept secure. 

The existence of classified documents was discovered by President Biden when his lawyer reported them in November to the White House counsel’s Office.  Sources close to the president claim that he is not aware of their contents. According to sources, the documents are currently kept in a secure area in Washington. 

Lauch will review, in part, the process by which the documents were transferred from Mr. Biden’s vice-presidential to the Penn Biden Centre. 

The University of Pennsylvania and Penn Biden Center did not respond to our request for comment. The National Archives declined to comment. Biden’s vice presidential records were overseen by Robert Lenhard and James Garland, who did not respond to voicemails or an email asking for comment. The Justice Department and FBI declined to comment.  

According to a source, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence was made aware of the Justice Department inquiry by an unnamed source.  

The Penn Biden Center case has parallels to the Justice Department’s pursuit of Donald Trump’s presidential records – but the scope and scale are materially different. The FBI executed a Mar-a-Lago search warrant in August that produced hundreds of classified documents.  

This unprecedented search came after more than a decade of conflict between Trump’s representatives, National Archives and Justice Department. After numerous failed attempts by the federal Government to locate sensitive documents in the former president’s residence, it was finally granted the search warrant and executed in August.  

Mar-a-Lago had, among other things, secrets about North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un and information on his nuclear capabilities. In January 2022, a first batch of 15 boxes was returned. However, Archives officials believed that some records were not yet accounted for. The agency referred the matter to the Justice Department in Feb 2022.  

Jack Smith, a newly appointed special counsel, is currently in charge of the Trump investigation.  

September saw the appearance of President Biden “60 Minutes” He was asked his opinion on a photograph showing documents that were recovered from Mar-a-Lago. “How that could possibly happen? How anyone could be that irresponsible,” The president stated. “And it just — totally irresponsible.” 

Federal officials have retrieved more than 300 classified documents from Trump’s former possession. 

The FBI does not believe that retaining classified information after leaving the government service will lead to criminal charges. The FBI found that Hillary Clinton, former Secretary of State, had classified information on her private email account for many years after she left State Department in 2013. FBI investigators found that the culprit was not intentional but rather sloppiness.  

“Although there is evidence of potential violations of the statutes regarding the handling of classified information, our judgment is that no reasonable prosecutor would bring such a case.” James Comey, FBI Director, stated that at the time.   

The Penn Biden Center gives Philadelphia-based University of Pennsylvania a presence in Washington. This think tank opened in 2018 and hosts events and academic programming that focuses on foreign policy. 

The office was used by Mr. Biden from mid-2017 through the spring 2019 when he declared that he would run for the presidency.   

The sixth floor offices of the center are located at the foot Capitol Hill. Floor-to-ceiling windows offer a panoramic view over the Capitol.  Many of the staff members are former Obama administration officials who have moved to the Biden administration.  

In 2018, the center was headed by Secretary of State Anthony Blinken. Steve Richetti was the center’s managing direct in 2019. 

According to the president’s financial disclosures, Mr. Biden was named a Benjamin Franklin Presidential Practice Prof in 2017 by the university. He has been paid $917,643 for speeches as well as for running his eponymous Center between 2017-2019. He is currently away from the university. 

His connections to the University of Pennsylvania are deep. Both his late son Beau and his granddaughter Naomi received undergraduate degrees from Penn. Biden’s granddaughter Natalie, his daughter Ashley, received her master’s from Penn. Biden was the then-Vice President and launched the Obama administration’s. “cancer moonshot” Penn in 2016. 

In a Q and A session last August with reporters, the president spoke about how he manages classified data at home. “I have, in my home, a cabined-off space that is completely secure.  I’m taking home with me today today’s [Presidential Daily Briefing].  It’s locked.  I have a person with me — military with me.  I read it, I lock it back up, and give it to the military.” 

Asking Mr. Biden if it was ever appropriate that a president bring back classified material, he replied: “It depends on the document, and it depends on how secure the room is.” 

Rob Legare contributed reporting. 

Adriana Diaz

Adriana Diaz is a CBS News correspondent, based in Chicago. She anchors Saturday’s edition. “CBS Weekend News.”

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