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More classified documents from the Obama administration were found in President Joe Biden’s Delaware residence this week — in addition to the two batches that were previously disclosed — the White House said Saturday. The newest set of pages were discovered by White House lawyer Richard Sauber on Thursday in a box initially uncovered by the president's personal lawyers on Wednesday. The White House revealed earlier this week that Biden's lawyers had discovered one document with classified markings in a room adjacent to the garage of his Delaware home. "The President’s personal attorneys discovered one document with a classified marking consisting of one page in a room adjacent to the garage. At that point, the President’s personal attorneys stopped searching the immediate area where the document was found," Sauber said.

Aides previously found another batch of classified documents at his residence, and at a Washington think tank he was associated with. Earlier on Friday, House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer wrote to the White House asking whether Hunter Biden had access to classified documents found at the president's private residence. In addition to examining Biden's handling of classified documents, Republicans are preparing to probe Hunter Biden's past business dealings in Ukraine. Republicans have sought to compare the investigation of Biden's handling of classified documents to the ongoing probe into how Trump handled classified documents after his presidency. The White House said Biden's attorneys found a small number of classified documents and turned them over after discovery.

☆ Biden documents bungle seen as political black eye before 2024 launch
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-14 | by ( Jeff Mason | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

"It basically ... is a huge gift to Trump," said David Axelrod, a former political adviser to President Barack Obama. Axelrod said the latest developments were an "embarrassment" because Biden criticized his predecessor after the FBI found classified government documents during a court-ordered search of Trump's Florida resort. The White House has promised to cooperate with the Department of Justice investigation and says the documents were inadvertently misplaced. In September Biden called Trump's handling of classified documents "totally irresponsible." "This is a distraction for the White House right when they were starting to gain some momentum," said Alex Conant, a Republican strategist and former spokesman for Republican President George W. Bush.

Biden's special counsel, Richard Sauber, said he traveled to Biden's Wilmington home on Thursday to facilitate the handover to the Justice Department of a document with classified markings that was found there earlier. Aides previously found another batch of classified documents at his residence, and at a Washington think tank he was associated with. "How many more classified documents will they find at Joe Biden’s house?" "People know I take classified documents and classified material seriously." Republicans have sought to compare the investigation of Biden's handling of classified documents to the ongoing probe into how former President Donald Trump handled classified documents after his presidency.

☆ Biden aides have discovered more pages of Obama-era classified documents at the president's Wilmington residence, White House says
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-14 | by ( John L. Dorman | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

More Obama-era classified documents were found at President Biden's Wilmington home, per The Times. The White House on Saturday announced that five additional pages were found on Thursday. "The President's lawyers have acted immediately and voluntarily to provide the Penn Biden documents to the Archives and the Wilmington documents to DOJ. The appointment of the Special Counsel in this matter this week means we will now refer specific questions to the Special Counsel's office moving forward. As I said Thursday, the White House will cooperate with the newly-appointed Special Counsel," the statement read.

The House Judiciary Committee announced Friday it's opened an investigation into the Obama-era classified documents that were found in President Joe Biden's Delaware home and his former Washington office. The White House acknowledged Thursday that classified documents dating back to Biden's time as vice president had been discovered in his garage in Delaware. Jordan and Johnson also renewed a request for information on the Trump investigation they made last year, when the committee was controlled by Democrats. "On August 15, 2022, Committee Republicans wrote to you and FBI Director Christopher Wray requesting documents and information related to the FBI’s raid of President Trump’s residence. The Justice Department has confirmed receipt of the letter but declined a request for comment.

☆ The Classified Biden Documents: A Timeline of What Happened and When
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-13 | by ( Sadie Gurman | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

President Biden’s actions after he left the vice presidency in 2017 are drawing more scrutiny. Aides found classified records dating from President Biden’s time as vice president at his Wilmington, Del., home and at an office he used at a Washington-based think tank bearing his name. The discoveries prompted Attorney General Merrick Garland to appoint a special counsel to examine why the material ended up there, similar to the one he named to investigate classified documents found at former President Donald Trump‘s Mar-a-Lago home in Florida.

☆ Two Presidents, Two Special Counsels
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-13 | by ( The Editorial Board | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Hear that quacking sound from Washington? It’s Attorney General Merrick Garland ’s latest duck. Faced with news that classified documents were recently found not only in a private office of President Biden’s but also his Delaware home, including in the garage, Mr. Garland on Thursday named another special counsel. “I strongly believe that the normal processes of this department can handle all investigations with integrity,” Mr. Garland said. “But under the regulations, the extraordinary circumstances here require the appointment of a special counsel.” He claimed this would make clear the Justice Department’s “commitment to both independence and accountability.” The new special counsel is Robert Hur , who clerked for Chief Justice William Rehnquist before starting a career as a federal prosecutor.

☆ Robert Hur Brings Experience With Political Pressure to Special-Counsel Role
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-13 | by ( C. Ryan Barber | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

WASHINGTON—When Rod Rosenstein left the Justice Department in 2019 after a rocky two years as deputy attorney general, his former top aide and protégé, Robert Hur, delivered a roast recalling the office’s capacity for comedic relief amid adversity. “When you’re going through tough times, when you say, ‘You can’t make this stuff up,’ you can either laugh or you can cry,” Mr. Hur said. “I certainly don’t remember any crying.”Mr. Hur’s resilience will soon be tested again. On Thursday, Attorney General Merrick Garland appointed him as special counsel to oversee the investigation into classified documents discovered at President Biden’s home and an office he used at a Washington think tank following his vice presidency.

The White House said some material was found in a locked garage at Biden's home and an adjacent room, and pledged to cooperate. "People know I take classified documents and classified material seriously," he added. Biden's attorneys said they have found fewer than a dozen classified documents and turned over the relevant papers after finding them. Trump resisted doing so until an August FBI search turned up about 100 classified documents, raising questions about whether Trump or his staff obstructed the investigation. "People know I take classified documents, classified material seriously," Biden told reporters on Thursday.

WASHINGTON—Attorney General Merrick Garland on Thursday named Robert Hur, a former U.S. attorney during the Trump administration, as special counsel to examine why classified documents were found at President Biden’s home and office, intensifying scrutiny of Mr. Biden’s actions after he left the vice presidency in 2017. The appointment came after Mr. Biden’s lawyer said aides found classified records, likely dating from Mr. Biden’s time as vice president, at his Wilmington, Del., garage and at an office he used at a Washington-based think tank that bears his name. It heightens political pressure on the White House and sets up the unusual prospect of three concurrent Justice Department special counsels, two of whom are investigating the actions of the president or his chief rival for office. Lawmakers from both parties in Congress have also demanded details on the discovery of the documents.

☆ House Republicans launch investigation into DOJ's probe of Biden's classified records
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-13 | by ( Warren Rojas | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

House Judiciary Committee chair Jim Jordan is opening his own investigation into the Biden files. Jordan wants Attorney General Merrick Garland to share information about the DOJ probe. Jordan laid out his myriad concerns about Biden's treatment of sensitive records during his tenure as vice president in a three-page letter to US Attorney General Merrick Garland. Jordan's swift action comes as the newly-empowered House GOP leaders plot an ambitious oversight agenda while rank-and-file members are giddily picking out impeachment targets. Jordan gave Garland until January 27 to provide the requested information.

[1/2] U.S. President Joe Biden departs the White House to board the Marine One helicopter for travel to Delaware from the White House in Washington, U.S. January 13, 2023. The White House has said the documents were "inadvertently misplaced" and that it is cooperating fully but has declined to respond to detailed questions on the investigation. While working as the Obama campaign's general counsel in 2008, Bauer helped vet Biden as Obama's pick for vice president. He is married to Anita Dunn, another Biden confidant and senior White House adviser. Bauer will now work with White House lawyers as Biden responds to the special counsel's investigation.

☆ Robert Hur: special counsel on Biden classified document probe
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-13 | by ( Kanishka Singh | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Michael A. McCoyWASHINGTON, Jan 13 (Reuters) - U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland on Thursday named Robert Hur as special counsel to investigate whether President Joe Biden had improperly handled sensitive government documents. Hur was the U.S. attorney in Maryland during the Trump administration and most recently served as litigation partner at law firm Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher. A graduate of Stanford Law School and Harvard College, Hur served as top aide to then-Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein before his appointment as the U.S. Attorney in Maryland. He knows what he is getting into," Rosenstein told CNN on Thursday after Hur's appointment as special counsel. "I will conduct the assigned investigation with fair, impartial, and dispassionate judgment," Hur said in a statement released after his appointment as special counsel.

☆ Biden set to deliver annual State of Union address on Feb. 7
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-13 | by ( Richard Cowan | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Biden turned 80 in November and, if re-elected, would be 82 at the start of a second term. House Republicans also are poised to pursue various investigations involving the president, his family and administration. Other matters that Congress could address in 2023 include legislation expected to be needed midyear to raise the federal government's borrowing authority, or debt limit. Conservative House Republicans are showcasing legislation to undo beefed-up funding for the Internal Revenue Service so that it can hire more agents to clamp down on wealthy tax cheats. Biden is fresh off a trip to the U.S.-Mexican border, where the influx of immigrants has Republicans eager to legislate tougher security measures.

☆ New rule on pistol attachments to boost gun safety, U.S. Justice Department says
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-13 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

The U.S. Justice Department announced on Friday a new rule targeting pistol attachments known as "stabilizing braces," implementing a key move in the Biden administration's efforts to beef up gun control regulations. A stabilizing brace is an attachment to a pistol that functionally turns it into a short-barreled rifle, similar to a sawed-off shotgun. The new rule clarifies that pistols modified by a stabilizing brace are subject to those additional requirements, department officials said. The new rule gives owners, manufacturers and distributors 120 days to report their stabilizing braces to the ATF tax-free. They may also remove the stabilizing brace or turn in any pistol modified by a stabilizing brace to the ATF.

☆ Biden didn't know classified documents were there in think tank or his home - White House
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-12 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

WASHINGTON, Jan 12 (Reuters) - U.S. President Joe Biden did not know that classified documents from his vice presidential days were at a Washington think tank or house in Wilmington, White House spokesperson Karine Jean-Pierre said on Thursday. Biden did not know what was in those classified documents, the White House said after Attorney General Merrick Garland appointed a special counsel to investigate the handling of sensitive government documents found there. Reporting by Jeff Mason, writing by Kanishka Singh in Washington; Editing by Doina ChiacuOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

"We are confident that a thorough review will show that these documents were inadvertently misplaced," White House lawyer Richard Sauber said in a statement. The White House on Monday disclosed that classified documents from Biden's vice presidential days were discovered in November at a think tank in Washington. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst 1 2 3 4 5"The fact that they called for special counsel for Trump's handling of classified documents, I don't see how they cannot appoint a special counsel with respect to Biden," said Representative James Comer, who will head the House Oversight Committee. Garland named a special counsel, Jack Smith, in November to oversee Justice Department investigations related to Trump, including the Republican former president's handling of classified documents and efforts to overturn the 2020 election. "As I said earlier this week, people know I take classified documents, classified material seriously.

☆ City National Bank to pay $31M redlining settlement, DOJ’s largest ever
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-12 | by ( The Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +4 min

The Justice Department accused Los Angeles-based City National Bank on Thursday of discrimination by refusing to underwrite mortgages in predominately Black and Latino communities, requiring the bank to pay more than $31 million in the largest redlining settlement in department history. City National is the latest bank in the past several years to be found systematically avoiding lending to racial and ethnic minorities, a practice that the Biden administration has set up its own task force to combat. The Justice Department says that between 2017 and 2020, City National avoided marketing and underwriting mortgages in majority Black and Latino neighborhoods in Los Angeles County. Other banks operating in those neighborhoods received six times the number of mortgage applications that City National did, according to federal officials. The settlement with City National is the largest settlement with the Justice Department.

☆ Who is Robert Hur? Special Counsel looking into Biden’s classified documents
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-12 | by ( Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms Rebecca-Shabad-Circle-Byline-Template.Jpg | Rebecca Shabad | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +2 min

WASHINGTON — Robert Hur, named Thursday by Attorney General Merrick Garland to oversee the investigation into President Joe Biden's handling of classified documents, is a former federal prosecutor who has worked with many Republicans throughout his law enforcement career. Garland appointed Hur as special counsel on Thursday after the White House acknowledged that Obama administration documents with classified markings were found in one of Biden’s Delaware homes. On Monday, the White House said that similar documents had been found in a Washington office. Hur has served as a partner at the law firm Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher since April 2021 where he has focused on enforcement, investigations and litigation. In between his jobs at the Justice Department, Hur worked at another private law firm, King & Spalding.

The White House on Monday disclosed that classified documents from his vice presidential days were discovered in November at a think tank in Washington. Garland said Robert Hur, a former U.S. attorney in Maryland, would serve as special counsel. Garland in November named a special counsel, Jack Smith, to oversee Justice Department investigations related to Donald Trump including the Republican former president's handling of classified documents and efforts to overturn the 2020 election. "As I said earlier this week, people know I take classified documents, classified material seriously. Biden in September called his predecessor's handling of classified documents "totally irresponsible."

Jan 12 (Reuters) - City National Bank, a unit of Royal Bank of Canada (RY.TO), agreed to commit more than $31 million to boost lending to Black and Hispanic home buyers in the Los Angeles area, in the U.S. Department of Justice's largest settlement over illegal redlining. The Justice Department accused City National of violating the federal Fair Housing Act by having "avoided" serving majority-Black and majority-Hispanic neighborhoods in the Los Angeles area between 2017 and 2020. The bank will also improve training, spend at least $1.75 million on advertising, community programs and financial education, and set up a fair lending oversight committee. Garland said the Justice Department is trying to vigorously enforce fair lending laws and ensure that lenders "provide equal opportunity for every American to obtain credit. City National, with $95.3 billion of assets, denied wrongdoing, but said it settled to avoid prolonged litigation.

A "small number" of Obama administration documents with classified marking were found in President Joe Biden's Wilmington home, the White House said Thursday. In a statement released on Twitter, Special Counsel to the President Richard Sauber said the documents were found during a search for documents in Biden's two Delaware homes. "All but one of these documents were found in storage space in the president's Wilmington residence garage. The White House says the search was completed Wednesday night. Sauber said the White House "will continue to cooperate" with the DOJ review.

☆ It took at least 48 days for Joe Biden to find and declare all the classified material at his residence and former office
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-12 | by ( Mattathias Schwartz | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

President Joe Biden maintains he cooperated swiftly and completely in returning classified documents. December 20: Biden's personal counsel tells Lausch that an additional batch of documents was discovered in the garage of Biden's residence, in Delaware. Biden's personal counsel tells Lausch that an additional batch of documents was discovered in the garage of Biden's residence, in Delaware. January 12 (morning): Biden's personal counsel informs Lausch that an additional classified document was found at Biden's residence. Biden's personal counsel informs Lausch that an additional classified document was found at Biden's residence.

☆ The furor over Biden's classified documents rekindles House Republicans' sweeping impeachment agenda
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-12 | by ( Warren Rojas | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

House Republicans sought to impeach Biden, Merrick Garland, Alejandro Mayorkas and others last year. 57; H. Res. 596; H. Res. 597; H. Res. 598; H. Res.

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