Search of Pence’s office turns up nothing new
WASHINGTON — The Justice Department searched the office of former Vice President Mike Pence’s Washington advocacy group for several hours Friday as part of its investigation into the discovery of sensitive documents at the homes and offices of current and former top U.S. officials.
Pence adviser Devin O’malley said no additional documents with classified markings were discovered during a “thorough and unrestricted search” of the office of Advancing American Freedom, the nonprofit group launched by Pence in 2021. One binder — believed to be part of Pence’s 2020 debate preparations — “with approximately three previously redacted documents” was taken by agents.
The search, described by both parties as consensual, came after negotiations between Pence’s representatives and the Justice Department and a week after the FBI searched Pence’s Indiana home and discovered one additional document with classified markings. That was after lawyers hired by Pence last month discovered what aides have described as a “small number” of potentially sensitive documents they say were inadvertently transported to Pence’s home in boxes at the end of the Trump administration.
Pence had asked his lawyers to conduct the search after an outcry over the discovery of classified documents at President Joe Biden’s Delaware home and office. He’s said repeatedly he was unaware they were there.
The willingness of Pence and Biden to permit the FBI searches stands in contrast to former President Donald Trump, who is under federal investigation for own handling of classified information and whose refusal to cooperate last year led to a warrant to inspect his Florida property.