Graphics: How Biden's case differs from Trump's classified documents seized at Mar-a-Lago
WASHINGTON — Classified documents found at two locations tied to President Joe Biden has drawn comparisons to the documents recovered by the Federal Bureau of Investigation from the Florida home of former President Donald Trump last year.
Republicans this week seized on what Rep. James Comer, R-Ky., head of the House Oversight and Accountability Committee in the new Republican majority, called a "two-tier justice system." Comer vowed his committee will investigate the matter.
"When is the FBI going to raid the many homes of Joe Biden, perhaps even the White House?" Trump said in a statement.
Yet there are key distinctions between the two cases:
Hundreds of Trump documents dwarf Biden's
Personal attorneys of Biden found a "small number" of classified documents on Nov. 2 – about 10 – at the Penn Biden Center, according to the White House, which did not disclose the revelation until Monday, when CBS News first reported on the documents.
The White House on Thursday confirmed an additional "small number" of documents were discovered at Biden's home in Wilmington, Delaware. All but one were stored in the garage, which Biden said is locked.
Attorney General Merrick Garland said Biden's attorneys notified the Justice Department about the second batch of documents Dec. 20. Notification came Thursday of an additional document in an adjacent room to the garage.
Yet even with the second batch of Biden's documents, it's significantly fewer than the 300 documents with classification markings the FBI uncovered from Trump's Mar-a-Lago home including more than 100 after an Aug. 8 search of Mag-a-Lago. The government cited evidence of violations of the Espionage Act and obstruction of justice to obtain a warrant to execute the search.
Trump claims he 'declassified' docs; Biden 'surprised to learn' of his docs
Trump has argued he "declassified" the documents found at Mar-a-Lago through presidential executive authority before moving out of the White House, but investigators have found no documentation to verify that.
The Biden White House has not said why classified documents ended up at Biden's private residence and the Penn Biden Center, a think-tank affiliated with the University of Pennsylvania that hosts academic programming and events focused on foreign policy. Biden had a private office at the center after the end of the Obama administration in 2017 until his presidential campaign in 2020.
"People know I take classified documents and classified material seriously," Biden said Thursday.
Biden told reporters Tuesday he was briefed about the discovery and was "surprised to learn" government records were at the office. He said he doesn't know what the documents contain.
Republicans have noted Biden's documents are from his time as vice president, arguing he lacked the same presidential authority cited by Trump. But legal experts say constitutional powers authorizing a president to declassify documents don't negate federal laws protecting documents classified as top-secret or higher.
Cooperation versus resistance
Biden's White House Counsel Office notified the National Archives voluntarily the day the documents at the Penn Biden Center were discovered, according to the White House, and is cooperating with the Archives and Justice Department, which is reviewing the matter. Biden's attorneys then searched the president's private residences in Wilmington and Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, the White House said.
The documents, which date from the Obama presidency when Biden served as vice president, were not the subject of any previous request or inquiry from the Archives, the White House said.
In contrast to Biden, Trump resisted returning 11,000 administration documents despite repeated requests from the National Archives under the Presidential Records Act and failed to fully comply with a subpoena that sought their return, according to the Justice Department. Trump's personal lawyer signed a statement that all classified records had been returned before the August search 18 months after he left office.
An initial set of Trump documents were returned to the Archives last January and another set last June before the FBI obtained a search warrant for Mar-a-Lago in August.
It's not been publicly disclosed what the recovered Biden documents contain. Uncovered at Trump's home were dozens of confidential, "secret" and "top secret" documents.
How the DOJ is handling both cases
The Justice Department has appointed special counsels to investigate both cases.
Last year, Garland appointed Jack Smith, a former chief prosecutor for a special court in The Hague, to investigate the Mar-a-Lago documents as part of a broader criminal inquiry that includes Trump’s role in the Capitol attack on Jan. 6, 2021.
Garland announced Thursday that Robert Hur, a Trump-appointed former top U.S. attorney in Maryland, will investigate whether any laws were violated concerning Biden's documents.
The new special counsel follows a review of the Biden documents conducted by John Lausch Jr., the chief federal prosecutor in Chicago who was also appointed by Trump. Garland said Lausch recommended a special counsel be appointed.
"I strongly believe that the normal processes of this department can handle all investigations with integrity," Garland said Thursday. "But under the regulations, the extraordinary circumstances here require the appointment of a special counsel for this matter."
The White House – citing the Justice Department's review – has offered few additional details including why officials did not publicly announce the existence of the documents when they were found.
Richard Sauber, special counsel to Biden, said the documents were "inadvertently misplaced" and expressed confidence the special counsel's investigation will show that.
Contributing: Bart Jansen, Kevin Johnson and Associated Press
Reach Joey Garrison on Twitter @joeygarrison