House Judiciary Committee opens probe into Biden documents
The House Judiciary Committee on Friday announced that it was opening an investigation into classified documents found in President Biden's Delaware home, as well as his former office in Washington, D.C.
The committee, which has been led by the GOP since the new congressional term at the beginning of January, sent a letter to Attorney General Merrick Garland confirming their probe. The letter, penned by Judiciary Committee head Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) along with Rep. Mike Johnson (R-La.) said, "The American people deserve transparency and accountability."
Garland had previously appointed Robert Hur, a former U.S. Attorney, as a special counsel to investigate the incident, and the Judiciary Committee's letter added that "the circumstances of this appointment raise fundamental oversight questions that the Committee routinely examines."
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Classified documents were discovered this past November at the Penn Biden Center in Washington, D.C., a think tank established by Biden in 2018, and a second batch of documents was found in Biden's garage in his Wilmington, Delaware residence the next month. The improperly stored documents reportedly dated back to Biden's time as vice president.
Republicans have taken to comparing Biden's document case to the alleged mishandling of documents by former President Donald Trump. However, many media outlets have noted that the cases are significantly different, given that Trump, unlike Biden, appears to have made efforts to obstruct investigations into his case.
The White House said Saturday that six classified pages had been found in Biden's house, and a source told CBS News the total number in Biden's possession was around 20. Trump, however, reportedly had more than 300 classified documents that were improperly stored at his home, and Reuters reported that the FBI found more than 11,000 total government records in Trump's private possession.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Justin Klawans has worked as a staff writer at The Week since 2022. He began his career covering local news before joining Newsweek as a breaking news reporter, where he wrote about politics, national and global affairs, business, crime, sports, film, television and other news. Justin has also freelanced for outlets including Collider and United Press International.
-
How are these Epstein files so damaging to Trump?TODAY'S BIG QUESTION As Republicans and Democrats release dueling tranches of Epstein-related documents, the White House finds itself caught in a mess partially of its own making
-
Margaret Atwood’s memoir, intergenerational trauma and the fight to make spousal rape a crime: Welcome to November booksThe Week Recommends This month's new releases include ‘Book of Lives: A Memoir of Sorts’ by Margaret Atwood, ‘Cursed Daughters’ by Oyinkan Braithwaite and 'Without Consent' by Sarah Weinman
-
‘Tariffs are making daily life less affordable now’Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
How are these Epstein files so damaging to Trump?TODAY'S BIG QUESTION As Republicans and Democrats release dueling tranches of Epstein-related documents, the White House finds itself caught in a mess partially of its own making
-
Trump DOJ sues to block California redistrictingSpeed Read California’s new congressional map was drawn by Democrats to flip Republican-held House seats
-
GOP retreats from shutdown deal payout provisionSpeed Read Senators are distancing themselves from a controversial provision in the new government funding package
-
Catholic bishops rebuke Trump on immigrationSpeed Read ‘We feel compelled’ to ‘raise our voices in defense of God-given human dignity,’ the bishops said
-
House releases Epstein emails referencing TrumpSpeed Read The emails suggest Trump knew more about Epstein’s sex trafficking of underage women than he has claimed
-
A free speech debate is raging over sign language at the White HouseTalking Points The administration has been accused of excluding deaf Americans from press briefings
-
Newsom slams Trump’s climate denial at COP30speed read Trump, who has called climate change a ‘hoax,’ declined to send any officials to this week’s summit
-
UK, Colombia halt intel to US over boat attacksSpeed Read Both countries have suspended intelligence sharing with the US over the bombing of civilian boats suspected of drug smuggling
