Biden describes classified files found at his home, office as likely 'stray papers' from 1974
President Biden has been circumspect in his comments about classified documents found in an office he used after his vice presidency and at his Delaware home, saying he has been advised against saying anything that may affect a federal investigation into the documents. Biden repeated that disclaimer in an interview with PBS NewsHour's Judy Woodruff on Wednesday, but he did provide some clues as to what his lawyers and the FBI found in his old files.
"The best of my knowledge, the kind of things they picked up are things that — from 1974, stray papers," Biden said near the end of a 20-minute interview in DeForest, Wisconsin. "There may be something else, I don't know." The public assumption has been that the classified papers date from his time as vice president, from 2009 to 2017, but he was two years into his first term in the Senate in 1974.
As to how classified documents ended up in his home and office, Biden said the people who packed up his vice presidential office "didn't do the kind of job that should've been done, to go thoroughly through every single piece of literature that's there." Unlike former President Donald Trump, Biden "volunteered to open every single aperture" to the FBI, he said. When Woodruff asked about his comment that Trump was "reckless" with classified documents, Biden noted the top secret markings on the files the FBI recovered from his Mar-a-Lago office and storage room.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
![https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516-320-80.jpg)
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.
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.
-
Ukraine's Olympians: going for gold in the line of fire
Under the Radar Hundreds of the country's athletes have died in battle, while those who remain deal with the psychological toll of war and prospect of Russian competitors
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
'Democrats now have a chance to present a vigorous, compelling case'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By Justin Klawans, The Week US Published
-
What has Kamala Harris done as vice president?
In Depth It's not uncommon for the second-in-command to struggle to prove themselves in a role largely defined by behind-the-scenes work
By Theara Coleman, The Week US Published
-
What has Kamala Harris done as vice president?
In Depth It's not uncommon for the second-in-command to struggle to prove themselves in a role largely defined by behind-the-scenes work
By Theara Coleman, The Week US Published
-
'Spare us the charade'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By Anya Jaremko-Greenwold, The Week US Published
-
How Biden's enablers may have delayed his bowing out
Talking Points Joe Biden's inner circle faces calls for a reckoning for allegedly shielding the president — and the public — from questions of aging and electoral viability
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Biden ends reelection bid, endorses Harris
Speed Read The sitting president gave his VP full support to replace him atop the Democratic ticket
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Can Kamala Harris beat Trump?
Today's Big Question Some senior Democrats are unsure the vice-president can win in November even as party closes ranks behind her
By The Week UK Published
-
Pelosi and Obama add to doubts over Biden
Speed Read Both Democrats think the president should reconsider his reelection campaign, insiders say
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Biden tests positive for Covid in fresh blow to campaign
Speed Read The president said he would consider dropping out of the race if presented with a "medical condition"
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Menendez convicted of bribery, fraud, and extortion
Speed Read The New Jersey Democratic Senator was found guilty in a federal corruption trial
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published