FBI agents on Wednesday reportedly searched President Joe Biden’s Delaware beach house for classified documents.
According to CBS News, agents showed up at Biden’s home at Rehoboth Beach on Wednesday to conduct the search, which was consensual and planned with Biden’s attorneys in advance.
The search comes after reports this week that the FBI searched Biden’s Washington, D.C., think tank, the Penn Biden Center, in mid-November as part of the documents probe. The White House had failed to disclose that the search took place.
"Today, with the President’s full support and cooperation, the DOJ is conducting a planned search of his home in Rehoboth, Delaware," Bob Bauer, a personal attorney for Biden, said in a statement.
"Under DOJ’s standard procedures, in the interests of operational security and integrity, it sought to do this work without advance public notice, and we agreed to cooperate," he added. "The search today is a further step in a thorough and timely DOJ process we will continue to fully support and facilitate. We will have further information at the conclusion of today’s search."
The documents saga started on Nov. 2 when Biden’s personal lawyer discovered classified documents at the Penn Biden Center, which the president formed in 2017. The Justice Department opened an inquiry into the matter on Nov. 14. Biden’s attorneys informed the agency on Dec. 20 that additional classified documents were found at the president’s house in Wilmington, Del. Attorney General Merrick Garland appointed a special counsel on Jan. 12 to oversee the investigation.
Biden’s representatives have claimed that they searched Biden’s Rehoboth residence but did not find any classified materials.
Republicans have questioned why the White House waited more than two months to publicly disclose that the records had been found at Biden’s properties. Between 20 and 30 documents, some marked Top Secret, have been recovered. Documents found at the Penn Biden Center reportedly discussed Ukraine, Iran, and the United Kingdom.