In a story many say is transitioning from embarrassing to scandalous, the latest revelations show additional “classified” documents were found in a second office tied to President Joe Biden and that “at least ten senior Biden administration officials” who worked at those offices appear to have been rewarded by being “hired to their current or former [high-level government] positions.”
The first batch of classified documents was found at the Penn Biden Center for Diplomacy and Global Engagement. Documents reportedly correspond to the years Joe Biden served as vice president and pertain to Ukraine, Hunter Biden, the UK, and the Iran nuclear agreement.
Employees at the Penn Biden Center for Diplomacy and Global Engagement, who were later moved into high-level government positions by now-President Joe Biden, include Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Under Secretary of Defense for Policy Colin Kahl and White House counselor Steven Ricchetti.
Also elevated after serving at the Penn Biden Center for Diplomacy and Global Engagement were:
- Spencer Boyer, now the deputy assistant secretary of defense for Europe and NATO policy
- Jeffrey Prescott, now the deputy to the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations
- Ariana Berengaut, a senior adviser in the national security department
- Michael Carpenter, now the U.S. representative to the organization for security and cooperation in Europe
- Juan Gonzalez, now a special assistant to President Biden
- Carlyn Reichel, now a special assistant to President Biden and senior director for speech writing and strategic initiatives
- Brian McKeon, was the deputy secretary of state for management and resources through December 2023
Also troubling to some is that financial disclosures filed with the Office of Government Ethics note the Penn Biden Center paid unusually high salaries to personnel later tapped by Biden to move into prestigious government positions. According to financial disclosures in 2019:
- Carpenter received a salary of $208,183.
- Kahl received a salary of $185,317.
- Prescott received a salary of $85,714.
- Blinken received a salary of $79,666 (for the first six months of 2019).
Also connected to the Biden Penn Center office where classified documents were found is Amy Gutmann, former president of Pennsylvania University, and David Cohen, the former chairman of the Pennsylvania University’s Board of Trustees.
Both Gutmann and Cohen were present at the Penn Biden Center grand opening ceremony and Biden’s inauguration ceremony.
Financial documents also reveal that the Penn Center received “$22 million” in “anonymous donations” from “Chinese donors,” according to Fox News.
Fox News reported that the National Legal and Policy Center filed a complaint with the Department of Justice in October 2020, demanding an investigation into the center’s financial ties.
NLPC Chairman Peter Flaherty told Fox News in 2021: “The University of Pennsylvania has stonewalled all inquiries into the identities of the Chinese donors who made $22 million anonymous donations to the university. We think it’s time for her (Dr. Gutmann) to answer the question and identify the donors.”
Attorney General Merrick Garland has appointed John Lausch, U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, to review the matter.
When asked about the classified documents found at the Penn Biden Center, President Biden noted:” I don’t know what’s in the documents. My lawyers have not suggested I ask what documents they were.”
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