Documents with classified markings were discovered in former Vice President Mike Pence’s Indiana home last week, his lawyer told the National Archives in a letter — the latest in a string of discoveries of confidential information in private residences.
The records “appear to be a small number of documents bearing classified markings that were inadvertently boxed and transported to the personal home of the former vice president at the end of the last administration,” Pence’s lawyer, Greg Jacob, wrote in the letter shared with The Associated Press.
He said that Pence “engaged outside counsel, with experience in handling classified documents, to review records stored in his personal home after it became public that documents with classified markings were found in President Joe Biden’s Wilmington residence.
The Justice Department already is using special counsels to investigate the presence of documents with classification markings taken from the Florida estate of former President Donald Trump and from Biden’s home and former Washington office. The department says roughly 300 documents marked classified, including at the top-secret level, were taken from Mar-a-Lago, and officials are trying to determine whether Trump or anyone else should be charged with illegal possession of those records or with trying to obstruct the months-long criminal investigation.
Pence’s lawyer said in his letter that the former vice president “was unaware of the existence of sensitive or classified documents at his personal residence” and “understands the high importance of protecting sensitive and classified information and stands ready and willing to cooperate fully with the National Archives and any appropriate inquiry.”
Jacob said that Pence immediately secured the documents that were discovered in a locked safe. And according to a follow-up letter from the lawyer dated Jan. 22, FBI agents visited Pence’s residence to collect the documents.
A Justice Department spokesman declined to comment Tuesday, and a lawyer for Pence did not immediately respond to an email seeking elaboration.
Pence told the Associated Press in August that he did not take any classified information with him when he left office.
Asked directly if he had retained any such information, he said, “No, not to my knowledge.”
In a January interview with Fox Business, Pence described a “very formal process” used by his office to handle classified information as well as the steps taken by his lawyers to ensure none was taken with him.
“Before we left the White House, the attorneys on my staff went through all the documents at both the White House and our offices there and at the vice president’s residence to ensure that any documents that needed to be turned over to the National Archives, including classified documents, were turned over. So we went through a very careful process in that regard,” Pence said.
(AP)
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Next Up: Clinton Obama
Basically if you go to any former high officials house you will probably find classified doc, that’s the way it was for the past 100 years and no one made an issue about it, but now when the dems tried to get Trump down and looking of what to make an issue they tried this too, not realizing that it will backfire, I’m sure you could find in Abamas home too.
I can’t wait to hear Karine Jean-Pierre comment on this.
Pence was on a tape last week saying Biden was careless and needed to be investigated. I guess Pence should of done his own due diligence before attaching
As the right wing media and Republicans have taught us over the past few weeks , we absolutely must know the answers to all of these questions.
1) Why were his lawyers searching his house for classified docs? Very suspicious.
2) Were they in a secure location or available to every person who stepped foot in his house?
3) How many more of Pence’s houses and offices have they checked? When are they going to be checked?
4) What was the content of the classified docs?
5) We need to know the name of every single visitor since he brought the classified documents to his house.
6) Who will Pence blame for bringing the classified docs into his house ? And not returning them?
7) What excuse will Pence give for being a traitor to America by holding on to classified docs and selling the info to the highest bidder?
8) When is he going to jail?
If they find more ( and I am sure they will) we need to add “when will it end” to every headline!!
Not you too, Pence!!!!!!
Clearly an evil democRAT snucked this into Vice President Mike Pence’s premises without his knowledge, because clearly Vice President Mike Pence is far too straight, to take any classifieds documents
I have a funny feeling that “147” maybe on target there.
Avramalah: The same guys that sneaked into the ballot counting rooms in Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Arizona and Georgia and left all those phony absentee ballots for Biden. These guys are amazing in their mesiras nefesh and the personal risks they are willing to take on behalf of the Dems.
Full blown comedy. Let’s just start over.
Plus this needs a special counsel assigned immediately by the DOJ.
I can believe that Trump trusted Pence with classified docs, but I can’t believe that Obama trusted Biden. Hillary already swiped – and wiped – all documents into her server, there was nothing left for him.
Perhaps someone will realize that the Presidential Records Act (PRA) should be amended so that prior to the change of administrations, the DNI will work jointly with the Archives to “screen” every piece of paper that an outgoing President or VP proposes to remove from the WH or VP’s residence and office at the OEOB. It is crazy to leave those decisions up to the few remaining political appointees and young lawyers from the WH counsel’s office still hanging around for the few weeks during the transition. They generally have limited experience in the PRA and classificaiton rules