On Friday, Former Vice President Mike Pence announced that he takes full responsibility for the classified documents that were found in his home earlier this week.
CNN reported that Pence has since turned the documents over to the FBI. The discovery comes as the Justice Department has already tapped two special counsels to investigate the potential mishandling of classified documents by President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump.
After it was revealed that classified documents had been discovered in Biden’s office at the Penn Biden Center, a Washington think tank affiliated with the University of Pennsylvania, Pence directed his team to search his home in Indiana and his office at his political advocacy group, Advancing American Freedom. While documents were found in his Indiana home, no classified papers turned up in the search of Pence’s offices at AAF.
“I remain very confident that during my time in the Congress of the United States we were very careful and very cautious,” Pence told Fox News. “And as we were during my time as vice president.”
“But, again, during the closing days of the administration, when materials were boxed and assembled, some of which were shipped to our personal residence, mistakes were made,” he continued. “We were not aware of it at the time until we did the review just a few short weeks ago. But I take full responsibility for it and we’re going to continue to support every appropriate inquiry into it.”
When asked if he thinks there should be a special counsel appointed to oversee his case, Pence responded, “I would leave that decision to the attorney general and the Department of Justice.”
“And, again, I — this was an unfortunate development,” Pence added. “And I — I think it’s important that our office simply cooperate fully in any investigation by either the Department of Justice, the Archives, or the Congress of the United States, and we’re determined to do that.”
The news comes after the Biden administration admitted that classified documents had been discovered not only in the president’s former office at the Penn Biden Center but also at his personal residence in Delaware where documents have continued to be found throughout January.
CNN reported that while Biden’s team claimed they were cooperative in dealing with the Department of Justice, federal investigators were prepared to get a search warrant if Biden did not consent to having his home searched.
“You want to have people looking at things, know what to look for,” a source told the outlet. “Attorneys don’t collect evidence – that would be FBI. Whoever’s getting this info would have to have clearance.”
The special counsel investigation by former U.S. Attorney Robert Hur, who was appointed by U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland, has been described as a “full-blown criminal investigation.”
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