Biden 'Surprised' by Records Found at Old Office

President Biden said Tuesday he was surprised when informed that government records were found by his attorneys at his former office space in Washington. He was asked about the issue after the top Republican on the House Intelligence Committee requested that the US intelligence conduct a "damage assessment" of potentially classified documents. Speaking to reporters in Mexico City, Biden said his attorneys "did what they should have done" when they immediately called the National Archives about the discovery at the offices of the Penn Biden Center, the AP reports. He kept an office there after he left the vice presidency in 2017 until shortly before he launched his presidential campaign in 2019.

"I was briefed about this discovery and surprised to learn that there are any government records that were taken there to that office," Biden said in his first comments since news of the Nov. 2, 2022, document discovery emerged Monday. He added that "I don’t know what’s in the documents" and that his lawyers had suggested he not ask. Earlier Tuesday, GOP Rep. Mike Turner sent the request to Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines, saying that Biden's retention of the documents put him in "potential violation of laws protecting national security, including the Espionage Act and Presidential Records Act."