Discovery of classified papers at Pence’s home is headache for Republicans in the House
‘There’d be no reason to have classified documents, particularly if they were in an unprotected area’
CLASSIFIED documents have been found at Mike Pence’s home, making the former vice-president the latest US official to face questions over his handling of US intelligence.
A lawyer for Mr Pence discovered about a dozen documents marked as classified at his Indiana home last Tuesday and handed them over to the FBI.
Mr Pence asked his legal team to search his home out of an “abundance of caution” and the attorney began going through four boxes stored there.
The classified material was “inadvertently boxed and transported” to his home in Carmel, Indiana, at the end of Donald Trump’s administration.
The boxes were not in a secure area but once the classified documents were found they were placed inside a safe located in the house, CNN sources said.
The news about Mr Pence, who is reported to be preparing to run for the Republican presidential nomination in 2024, came as special counsels investigate the handling of classified documents by both Joe Biden, the President, and Mr Trump. The Presidential
Records Act requires presidents and vice-presidents to turn documents over to the National Archives for proper preservation.
It is likely to prove a headache for House Republicans, who have been pushing for a more robust investigation into Mr Biden over the discovery of classified and sensitive documents found at his home in Delaware and at his former office in Washington DC.
Since the FBI searched Mr Trump’s home in Florida for classified material in August, Mr Pence has said he did not retain any classified material upon leaving office. “No, not to my knowledge,” he said in August.
In November, Mr Pence was asked by ABC News whether he had taken classified documents from the White House. “I did not,” Mr Pence responded. “Well, there’d be no reason to have classified documents, particularly if they were in an unprotected area,” he continued. “But I will tell you that I believe there had to be many better ways to resolve that issue than executing a search warrant at the personal residence of a former president of the United States.”
Senate leaders from both parties were surprised on Monday to hear the new revelations that Mr Pence was also in possession of classified records at his home.
“I don’t understand this,” Democrat Dick Durbin of Illinois, the chairman of the Senate judiciary committee, told
CNN. John Cornyn, the Republican congressman from Texas, said the development was “not good”.
Republican senators have called for an investigation into President Biden for his handling of classified documents from when he was vice-president. Merrick Garland, the attorney general, has appointed special counsel to handle the justice department’s own inquiry.
The Republican-majority House could vote on articles of impeachment if the special prosecutor or House investigators find Mr Biden broke the law or jeopardised national security.