FBI searches Biden's Delaware beach home, but finds no classified documents

President Joe Biden.
(Image credit: Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)

President Biden's home in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, was searched by FBI agents on Wednesday morning, the president's lawyer said. It comes as Biden faces a continuing investigation into classified documents found in his possession.

In a statement, Bob Bauer, Biden's personal attorney, said the FBI search had been conducted without advance public notice, and that the Biden administration was cooperating. A source told NBC News a search warrant was not obtained because Biden had consented to the FBI's actions.

"The search today is a further step in a thorough and timely DOJ process we will continue to fully support and facilitate," Bauer added. "We will have further information at the conclusion of today's search."

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The FBI confirmed that nothing classified was retrieved from the Rehoboth Beach home.

The search comes after classified documents were previously found in Biden's Wilmington, Delaware, home, as well as in the Penn Biden Center, a Washington, D.C., think tank where Biden previously had an office.

The documents in the Penn Biden Center were first discovered this past November, but this was only revealed to the public in January. The documents in Wilmington were then subsequently discovered.

Wednesday's search follows heightened scrutiny of the security of classified documents. In addition to Biden, former President Donald Trump is also under federal investigation after boxes of classified documents were found at his home in Mar-a-Lago. Additional classified documents were also found in the possession of Trump's former vice president, Mike Pence.

While many have taken to comparing the investigations between Biden and Trump, The Guardian noted, "The scale of the scandals is hugely lopsided: thousands of documents in Trump's possession, including many marked top secret, versus an estimated dozen in Biden's."

Feb. 1, 2023: This story has been updated with additional information.

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Justin Klawans, The Week US

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.