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☆ GOP Rep. Mike Turner, who suggested Trump took about 300 classified documents to write a memoir, calls Biden a 'serial classified document hoarder'
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-22 | by ( Katie Balevic | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

GOP Rep. Mike Turner said President Biden is a "serial classified document hoarder" after more documents were found at his residence. Turner previously suggested Donald Trump had hundreds of classified documents at Mar-a-Lago to help him write a memoir. "Apparently, he's become a serial classified document hoarder," Turner said of Biden Sunday morning on "Face the Nation" on CBS News. I mean the only reason you can think of as to why anyone would take classified documents out of a classified space and home is to show them to somebody." Both incidents have prompted special counsel investigations, but Turner appeared to have more concerns over Biden's classified documents.

☆ The Justice Department searched Biden's home and recovered 6 more classified documents
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-22 | by ( Lloyd Lee | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Biden's personal attorney said in a statement that "six items" with classified markings were found. Classified documents were previously found in Biden's home and the Penn Biden Center think tank. "Yesterday, DOJ complete a thorough search of all the materials in the President's Wilmington home," Bauer said in the statement. A set of classified documents was previously found at Biden's Delaware home and at the president's Washington think tank, the Penn Biden Center for Diplomacy and Global Engagement. The president's personal attorneys later disclosed to Lausch that they had found a second set of classified documents in the garage of Biden's Wilmington home on December 20.

☆ The Secret Service may reveal the names of people unofficially vetted when they visited Biden's Delaware home, a report says
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-21 | by ( Alia Shoaib | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Fox News said that the Secret Service is willing to give Congress a list of visitors to Biden's home if asked. "Like every president in decades of modern history, his personal residence is personal," the White House Counsel's Office said on Monday. Secret Service spokesman Anthony Guglielmi similarly told reporters that the agency does not keep visitor logs for private residences. If the agency did give up records of Biden's visitors to Congress, it would mark a different approach during Trump's presidency. While no official records are kept, the way they are for White House visitors, there are electronic reports that are generated and kept.

☆ Hunter Biden had access to dad's Corvette that was stored in garage where classified docs were found, report says
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-19 | by ( Mia Jankowicz | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Pictures of Hunter Biden in his dad's Corvette raise questions about his access to classified documents. They are dated to 2017, when classified documents may have been in the Biden garage, it said. The four images, whose metadata the outlet said it examined, appear to show Hunter Biden in the driver's seat of his father's Corvette in July 2017. Revelations about classified documents pose a political headache for the Biden White House. The Republican Party has long targeted Hunter Biden for some of his past business dealings, and allegations of influence peddling.

☆ White House aides were reportedly blindsided by AG Garland's appointment of a special counsel to investigate Biden
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-19 | by ( Sonam Sheth | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Many in the White House were blindsided when AG Garland appointed a special counsel to investigate Biden, WaPo reported. The GOP has accused the special counsel Robert Hur of being partisan, but a former Trump lawyer disagreed, saying he's "smart and experienced." That's why many in the White House were blindsided, according to The Washington Post, when Attorney General Merrick Garland appointed a special counsel to investigate Biden's mishandling of classified information. Republicans and Democrats alike have criticized the Biden White House for failing to disclose the existence of the DOJ's investigation for two months, despite having known about it since November. But Ty Cobb, who once served as Trump's White House counsel, dismissed those concerns.

☆ Rudy Giuliani says Trump once advised him to take top-secret files home
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-16 | by ( Cheryl Teh | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Rudy Giuliani says Trump once told him to take top-secret documents home. Giuliani said the incident occurred just after Trump became president, when he was working at Mar-a-Lago. Giuliani said he was at Mar-a-Lago, working on "vetting" some "very rich" people — specifically, going through their tax returns for Trump. The incident occurred right after Trump became president, Giuliani said. During its raid of Trump's Mar-a-Lago property on August 8, the FBI seized batches of classified documents, including some marked "top secret."

☆ GOP Rep. looking into Biden's mishandling of classified docs said he won't do the same for Trump
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-16 | by ( Mia Jankowicz | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

The new GOP oversight chair is looking into Biden's mishandling of classified documents. Speaking to CNN, he said: "We just want equal treatment here, with respect to how both former President Trump and current President Biden are being treated with the document issue." Comer asked why Trump's Mar-a-Lago home was searched by the FBI and why Biden's home wasn't, saying: "it's not fair." Asked if seeking more information of Trump would be a priority, Comer said: "That will not be a priority." Indicating the clip, Jake Tapper asked him: "Do you only care about classified documents being mishandled when Democrats do the mishandling?"

☆ Republicans want Biden home visitor logs - but not Trump's
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-15 | by ( Doina Chiacu | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Republicans have sought to compare the Biden documents case with that of former President Donald Trump, who faces a federal criminal probe of how he handled classified documents after he left the White House. Comer said he would not seek visitor logs for Trump's Mar-a-Lago residence, where more than 100 classified documents were found in an FBI search. There is no legal requirement that U.S. presidents disclose visitors at their home or at the White House. The Biden administration reinstated disclosures of official guests to the White House and released its first batch of records in May 2021. TRUMP VS. BIDEN DOCUMENT ISSUESRepublicans in the U.S. House of Representatives launched an investigation on Friday into the Justice Department's handling of improperly stored classified documents possessed by Biden.

☆ The ways federal officials from Richard Nixon to Donald Trump — and now Joe Biden — have been accused of mishandling government records
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-15 | by ( Kelsey Vlamis | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

President Joe BidenPresident Joe Biden speaks at the White House on January 12, 2023. Attorney General Merrick Garland on Thursday appointed a special counsel, Robert K. Hur, to investigate Biden for potential mishandling of classified documents. Another State Department investigation that lasted for three years and ended in 2019 found Clinton's use of a private email server put classified information at risk but that there was "no persuasive evidence of systemic, deliberate mishandling of classified information." Berger was found to have smuggled out highly classified documents, destroying some, and lying about possessing them. Lower-profile federal officials are more commonly chargedIn addition to former presidents and top White House officials, lower-profile federal agents are more commonly charged with mishandling government documents.

☆ Utah GOP Rep. Chris Stewart rejects notion that Biden was unaware of classified documents found in his possession: 'It just is nonsense'
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-15 | by ( John L. Dorman | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Rep. Stewart rejected the notion that President Biden was unaware of classified documents in his possession. Biden last week said that he did not realize that he was in possession of the Obama-era documents. "I've dealt with classified documents almost my entire life. "This isn't the kind of thing that you just sit on your desk and you think, 'Oh, I forgot that they're classified.' The House Judiciary Committee on Friday announced that it would launch an investigation into the unearthing of the Biden materials.

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.

☆ Merrick Garland appoints special counsel to probe Biden's mishandling of classified documents
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-12 | by ( Brent D. Griffiths | Nicole Gaudiano | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Attorney General Merrick Garland appointed a special counsel to probe Biden's mishandling of classified information. "Mr. Hur has a long and distinguished career as a prosecutor," Garland told reporters after announcing his decision. Garland added that US attorney John Lausch, a Trump appointee who has guided the preliminary investigation, told Garland that he could only lead the initial stages of the probe. Responding to Garland's announcement, Richard Sauber, special counsel to the president, called the mishandling of documents a "mistake." "As I said earlier this week, people know I take classified documents and classified material seriously," Biden told reporters.

But even Democrats acknowledge the issue will give the new GOP-controlled House a fresh line of attack against the White House and may help Trump neutralize or counteract one of the most potent charges against him. And of course, the FBI investigation into classified documents on former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s private email server may have sunk her 2016 presidential campaign. Recent polls show most Americans have little interest in Congress investigating Biden and are more likely to trust him over Trump or the new Congress. “I think House Republicans have tied themselves into knots already,” Petkanas added, noting GOP lawmakers have downplayed Trump’s documents. James Comer said Trump’s documents are not 'a priority.’ So how can they with a straight face say that the Biden documents have legs but Trump’s do not?”

☆ Biden aides find second batch of classified documents at new location, reports say
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-11 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

WASHINGTON, Jan 11 (Reuters) - Aides to U.S. President Joe Biden have discovered at least one more batch of classified documents in a location separate from a think tank office he used after serving as vice president, news outlets reported on Wednesday, citing unnamed sources. The NBC News report said the classification level, number and precise location of the additional documents was not immediately clear. The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Reuters. A spokesperson for Senator Marco Rubio, the committee's Republican vice chair, said Rubio and Warner had written to Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines, asking for access to the classified documents. The Justice Department is separately probing Trump's handling of highly sensitive classified documents that he retained at his Florida resort after leaving the White House in January 2021.

The party-line vote on Tuesday aims to do just that, setting up a "Select Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government." The body is set to launch a wide-ranging probe of Democrat Biden's administration, which Republicans accuse of "weaponizing" the FBI against Trump. Among the federal agencies targeted are those looking into Trump's attempt to overturn his 2020 defeat and alleged mishandling of classified documents. On Monday the White House said that lawyers for Biden found classified documents at a Washington think tank affiliated with the president. That would create a situation where he could seek to oversee a federal investigation into himself.

☆ Biden: We are cooperating with review on classified documents
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-10 | by ( Jarrett Renshaw | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

MEXICO CITY, Jan 10 (Reuters) - President Joe Biden said on Tuesday he was surprised to learn that classified documents were found in a think-tank office he once used and said he and his team are cooperating fully with a review into what happened. Biden told reporters at a joint news conference with the leaders of Mexico and Canada that he takes classified documents seriously. "We are cooperating fully with the review, which I hope will be finished soon," Biden said. On that visit, Trump's advisers returned a few dozen additional classified records, and attested that no other classified material remained in the residence. And as soon as they did, they realized there were several classified documents in that box.

☆ Trials, pardons, prison time: How Trump's legal woes could play out and what it means for 2024
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-26 | by ( Sonam Sheth | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +15 min

The warrant also indicated that the Justice Department was investigating whether Trump violated three federal laws, including the Espionage Act, related to the handling of national security information. Here are some possibilities:The investigations conclude with no charges filedIn the US's 250-year history, no ex-commander in chief has ever faced criminal charges. In all, the former president, if convicted, would be facing up to 33 years of incarceration, according to legal experts. That begs the question: If Trump is charged, convicted, and winds up in prison, can he still run for president in 2024? He made headlines during his presidency for wondering why he couldn't have "my guys" at the "Trump Justice Department" do his bidding.

☆ Factbox: Jan. 6 report adds to Trump's mounting legal problems
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-23 | by ( Industry Insight | Saw Law Firms Move Past The Pandemic Into A More Client-Focused Service Environment | Thomson Reuters Institute | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +8 min

A New York judge ordered that an independent monitor be appointed to oversee the Trump Organization before the case goes to trial in October 2023. Trump asked Raffensperger to "find" enough votes needed to overturn Trump's election loss in Georgia. Legal experts said Trump may have violated at least three Georgia criminal election laws: conspiracy to commit election fraud, criminal solicitation to commit election fraud and intentional interference with performance of election duties. A Trump Organization lawyer has said it would appeal the decision, while Trump has defended his company's operations. Allen Weisselberg, the company's former chief financial officer, pleaded guilty and was required to testify against the Trump Organization as part of his plea agreement.

☆ Mar-a-Lago guests were partying and taking dips in the pool only 60 feet away from classified docs, per new New York Times investigation
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-17 | by ( Azmi Haroun | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

According to The New York Times, Trump stored many of the documents in half-open storage rooms. Boxes of documents were stored between beach chairs and umbrellas in storage rooms near the resort's central patios and outdoor spaces used to host events. Guests were only sixty feet away from the documents at times, according to a sweeping visual investigation by The New York Times, which shed light on the nature of the storage of government documents that included some marked "classified." According to the Times, Trump hosted at least 50 political events in the first 19 months after leaving office. Less than 60 feet away from the White and Gold Ballroom, where event attendees spilled out onto an awning, multiple storage rooms were used to stash the documents.

☆ Judge dismisses Trump's case challenging Mar-a-Lago document seizure after appeals court ends special master review
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-12 | by ( Kevin Breuninger | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

An aerial view of former U.S. President Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago home after Trump said that FBI agents raided it, in Palm Beach, Florida, August 15, 2022. Judge Aileen Cannon, a Trump appointee, signed a one-page order dismissing the case for lack of jurisdiction. That includes Trump's effort to obtain an unredacted version of the search warrant affidavit that was used to sanction the raid. Cannon in September had appointed retired Judge Raymond Dearie as special master, while she blocked the Justice Department from reviewing the seized materials as part of a criminal investigation. A three-judge panel on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit ruled Dec. 1 that Cannon should not have appointed the special master, writing that she "improperly exercised" an expansion of her jurisdiction.

A source familiar with the matter confirmed the DOJ's request, which was first reported by The Washington Post. The request comes after Trump's lawyers recently discovered at least two documents with such markings in a storage unit in West Palm Beach, Florida. That search turned up over 100 documents with such markings, including some marked top secret, in a storage room in Mar-a-Lago and in Trump's office there. Judge Beryl Howell's hearing on the DOJ’s request, and the legal arguments underpinning it, are being kept under wraps because they involve grand jury proceedings. Corcoran drafted the June letter certifying all documents with classification markings had been returned, NBC News has previously reported.

That search came after the feds issued a subpoena in May demanding the return of any documents marked classified that left the White House with Trump. Trump’s lawyers hired an outside firm to conduct searches last month at the storage facility and other locations. One of the sources said Trump has never been inside the storage facility. The pallets were delivered in August of 2021, with four going to the storage facility and two going to Mar-a-Lago, the emails show. The discovery of the new documents is further evidence that Trump and his team did not fully comply with a grand jury subpoena issued in May seeking all documents marked classified still in their possession.

WHITE HOUSE RUNOn Nov. 15 Trump launched his campaign for the Republican nomination to take on Democratic President Joe Biden. NEW YORK CRIMINAL PROBEAfter Tuesday's verdict in the tax fraud case, the New York state judge set sentencing for Jan. 13. GEORGIA ELECTION TAMPERING PROBEA special grand jury was empanelled in May for a Georgia prosecutor's inquiry into Trump's alleged efforts to influence that state's 2020 election results. Trump asked Raffensperger to "find" enough votes needed to overturn Trump's election loss in Georgia. Legal experts said Trump may have violated at least three Georgia criminal election laws: conspiracy to commit election fraud, criminal solicitation to commit election fraud and intentional interference with performance of election duties.

☆ Lawyers reportedly found more classified government documents in Trump's Florida storage units alongside 'swords and wrestling belts'
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-07 | by ( Jacob Shamsian | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Trump hired the team himself to do a more thorough search pursuant to a subpoena request. The documents were found with suits, swords, and wrestling belts, a source told the Washington Post. The FBI executed a search warrant at Trump's Mar-a-Lago country club estate in August, believing Trump's lawyers didn't comply with the earlier subpoena. According to the Post, Trump hired an outside law firm to conduct additional searches to comply with instructions by Chief US District Judge Beryl A. Howell. A person familiar with the search told the Post that the Florida storage unit was not cataloged and contained an assortment of gifts and clothing.

☆ Trump legal team search for classified material at properties, Washington Post says
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-07 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Dec 7 (Reuters) - Lawyers for former U.S. President Donald Trump searched Trump Tower and one of his golf courses after a judge instructed them to attest to complying with a subpoena to turn over all classified materials, The Washington Post reported on Wednesday. Trump's legal team hired an outside firm to carry out the search of his golf club in Bedminster, New Jersey in recent weeks, and, more recently Trump Tower in New York, the report said, citing people familiar with the matter. The team also offered the FBI the opportunity to observe the search, but was declined, according to the report. Trump's lawyers have informed the Justice Department that the outside team did not find any new classified information during their search, according to The Washington Post. In August, an FBI search at Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida, found more than 20 boxes of government records, including 11 sets of classified documents.

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