FBI agents raided US President Joe Biden’s home this Friday between 9:45 a.m. and 10:30 p.m. under a warrant from the Department of Justice. It was a search granted without a request or court order, but voluntarily granted by Biden and his lawyers. In a nearly 13-hour thorough review of the president’s belongings, agents discovered new documents with classifieds and linked material from Biden’s time as senator and vice president, his lawyer said Saturday. They seized them, and also took some handwritten notes during Biden’s years as vice president (2009 to 2017).
There is no end to the soap opera of classified papers. Since first being discovered in a private office at the Ben Biden Center, At a university center where Biden worked, the trickle continued and the president’s explanations were confusing. The head of the Department of Justice, Merrick Garland, was appointed by Biden and carries out the functions of the Attorney General. A special prosecutor has been appointed to investigate the case. Although the president tried to downplay it. There are big differences with the roles his predecessor, Donald Trump, had at his Mar-a-Lago mansion in Palm Beach (Florida), but there are also obvious parallels.
Trump asked for raids on the current president’s homes: “When is the FBI going to raid a lot of Joe Biden’s homes, maybe even the White House?”, He wrote on his social network, True Community. Finally, without a raid, but voluntarily, a search was conducted at his residence in Wilmington (Delaware), where the president lived before being elected and where he usually spends weekends, in which he did not appear. There is no event on his official agenda. It is a performance without precedent.
His lawyers already found a second batch of classified documents in a room next to the garage on December 20, and new classified documents last week, when Justice Department officials were already there. The search is, as far as known, insufficient.
While the search of Biden’s home this Friday was not made public in advance at the request of the Justice Department, his personal attorney, Bob Bauer, released a statement Saturday revealing the search and its outcome.
“From the beginning of this matter, the President has directed his personal attorneys to cooperate fully with the Department of Justice (DOJ). Accordingly, since we have located a small number of classified documents at the President’s Wilmington residence and reported them to DOJ, in the interest of moving the process along as quickly as possible, we have offered to provide DOJ with immediate access to your address. “Search all campuses for possible Vice Presidential records and possible classified material,” the statement said.
Join EL PAÍS to follow all the news and read without limits.
According to Bauer, the Justice Department conducted a “comprehensive search” that included all work, living and storage spaces in the home. It lasted about 12 hours and 45 minutes. Under an agreement with the Justice Department, representatives from Biden’s personal legal team and the White House Office of Legal Counsel attended, though neither the president nor first lady Jill Biden did.
Ordinarily, agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) act as judicial police, and the Andhra agency says that was the case in this case, although the report did not specify that. Investigators had full access to the president’s home, including handwritten notes, files, papers, folders, memorabilia, to-do lists, calendars and reminders dating back decades.
“The DOJ seized materials believed to be within the scope of its investigation, including documents with classification marks and six items of accompanying material, some of which date to the president’s tenure in the Senate and others to his time as vice president. DOJ also seized personal handwritten notes from the vice presidential years for further review. took,” Bauer explained in his statement. US law requires that the president’s records and papers be preserved and made available to the National Archives when he leaves office, whether classified or not.
The search of Mar-a-Lago came after a court order for signs of four potential crimes, including solicitation and obstruction of justice, was ignored by Trump and his lawyers. The biggest difference in the Trump case is the cooperation and voluntary release of classified documents by the current president and his lawyers. At the same time, the FBI agents’ search adds a new parallel, even if only partially.
Politically, it’s no doubt a blow to Biden, who searched Mar-a-Lago for classified documents and seizedIn an interview for the show 60 minutes Released last September He replied: “How could that happen? How could one be so irresponsible?
The United States classifies its top secrets as confidential, but it routinely labels State Department communications with its embassies. Sometimes it’s about unnecessary things, As leaked by WikiLeaks. By its very nature, the contents of the documents improperly maintained by Biden have not been released, although some are known to have dealt with the United Kingdom, Ukraine and Iran.
Ten classified documents kept by Biden in his office were discovered on Nov. 2, just days before the midterm elections, and such news could have obvious ramifications. However, the discovery was not revealed until two weeks ago, and the delay is yet another issue the White House is unable to respond to.
Biden declared that he was “surprised” to learn of the government records in the Ben Biden Center’s office, and assured that he did not know their contents. If you can convince prosecutors that there is no intent to detain them, the criminal case may be diluted. Impeachment is a different matter altogether.
Follow all international information Facebook Y Twitteror inside Our weekly newsletter.
“Music ninja. Analyst. Typical coffee lover. Travel evangelist. Proud explorer.”
More Stories
Couple earns $20,000 by reselling salt on Amazon
Bad Bunny shares emotional video from Puerto Rico after comedian’s offensive comments at Trump rally
About 30 million people are at risk in this US state on Halloween night, according to the NWS