President Joe Biden's team fears his re-election chances could be hurt if Robert Hur's investigation into Biden's handling of classified documents is made public.
Although no criminal charges are expected, Biden's team is particularly concerned that Hur's upcoming report could contain embarrassing details, possibly accompanied by photos showing how Biden stored the top-secret documents after his vice presidency.
Classified Obama administration information was discovered in Biden's garage at his Delaware home along with a private office he used in Washington in November 2022.
Additional documents were found in the president's garage in Wilmington on December 20 and in his home library on January 12, 2023.
Biden said he didn't know the documents were there.
Documents were found in the President's garage in Wilmington, Delaware on December 20, 2022 and in his home library on January 12, 2023
In January 2023, Biden was asked how he could have classified materials “next to your Corvette.” He shot back: “By the way, my Corvette is in a locked garage, okay?”
Images from the entrance to President Joe Biden's lakefront home in Wilmington, Delaware
Biden aides are worried that Republican rival Donald Trump will quickly seize on Hur's report to draw comparisons with his own post-presidency investigation into classified documents for which he is accused of a crime.
Hur, a former U.S. attorney who was nominated by Trump in 2017, is tasked with preparing a report detailing the investigation's findings – but the timing of its release is uncertain, causing unease.
Attorney General Merrick Garland, who appointed Hur, has promised transparency to provide “explanation.” [the] … decisions about whether or not to prosecute and their strategic choices along the way.
“Typically, special counsel testified at the end of their reports, and I expect that will be the case here,” he said.
Even if there are no criminal charges, Biden aides say the details in Hur's report could prove politically damaging.
Special Counsel Robert Hur is expected to issue a “highly critical” detailed report
Biden said lawyers discovered “a small number of documents with classified markings in storage areas and filing cabinets in my home and my – my personal library.” He also pointed to the discovery of materials at the Penn Biden Center in Washington
Hur has interviewed the president's advisers and family members, including Biden himself and son Hunter, but has not made any public statements throughout the process.
Hur's team is reportedly expected to issue a “highly critical” detailed report.
Biden has previously defended his practice of storing documents from his vice presidency in his garage, emphasizing the security of his chosen storage location.
“My Corvette is in a locked garage, so it's not like they're sitting out on the street,” Biden said at the time the documents were discovered.
However, releasing photos showing such storage practices could potentially trigger a political storm, similar to when it was revealed that Trump's Mar-a-Lago document storage facility contained images of boxes of documents stored in a bathroom and a walk-in shower were kept.
At the time of their discovery, Biden was being questioned by members of the media when Fox News' Peter Doocy asked the president how he was able to preserve “secret materials.” [in his garage] next to your Corvette. What did you think you were doing?' – a nod to his classic 1967 Stingray, which his son Hunter had converted for him as a Christmas present.
“By the way, my Corvette is in a locked garage, okay? “It’s not like sitting out on the street,” Biden replied. He confirmed that the documents were stored in a locked garage and said, “Yes – as was my Corvette.”
The classic car, a wedding gift from his father more than 50 years ago, is valued at $78,000.
“People know that I take confidential documents and confidential materials seriously,” Biden said at the time.
A web ad from Biden's presidential campaign shows him backing his vintage car into his garage, with boxes and what appears to be a lampshade visible in the background.
He said lawyers discovered “a small number of documents with classified markings in storage rooms and filing cabinets at my home and in my – my personal library.”
The secret documents are believed to have included information about Iran, Ukraine, the United Kingdom and personal family information, including documents about the funeral of the Bidens' late son, Beau.
The White House and a spokesman for Biden's lawyer Bob Bauer are not commenting on the current situation.
In August 2022, FBI agents raided Mar-a-Lago, Trump's Palm Beach estate
According to the federal indictment against Donald Trump, documents at Mar-a-Lago were moved from the building's commercial center to a bathroom and shower in the Lake Room
In contrast, special counsel Jack Smith filed charges against Trump back in July for allegedly unlawfully storing national defense information, conspiring to obstruct justice and making false statements.
Last week, it was revealed that the FBI missed a “hidden room” during the August 2022 raid on his Mar-a-Lago mansion, and officials fear it may have contained classified documents.
Special Counsel Jack Smith's team recently interviewed several witnesses about a closet and a “hidden room” connected to Trump's bedroom as part of their investigation into the former president's handling of classified materials, ABC News reported.
When agents searched Trump's bedroom during the raid, they apparently missed a small door in one of the walls that was hidden behind a large dresser and a large television. This “hidden room” was sometimes entered by maintenance workers checking the cables running within it.
And now some officers believe a closet near the apartment, which was locked on the day of the search, should have been opened and checked.
Smith's team is believed to be trying to determine whether any secret documents remain at Mar-a-Lago. The FBI seized dozens of boxes and more than 100 classified documents during the August 2022 search.
Agents found no classified material in Trump's bedroom during their search, but are apparently reassessing the matter.
The former president was indicted in June for having materials in his possession at the time of his presidency. According to the Presidential Records Act, all records of a president are the property of the federal government and belong to the National Archives.
Trump has denied any wrongdoing.
He faces seven federal charges – including conspiracy, violating the Espionage Act and retention of classified documents – relating to the documents he took with him after he left the White House, all of which carry a potential prison sentence of up to be punished for 20 years. He was also charged individually under the Espionage Act for each of the 32 documents, for a total of 37 federal charges.
Trump has pleaded not guilty to 40 federal charges and his trial date is set for May 2024, right in the middle of the presidential campaign season.
He also faces federal charges related to his actions during the January 6 insurrection, charges in New York related to his business dealings and his attempt to bribe porn star Stormy Daniels, and charges in Georgia related to attempts to to overturn the 2020 election results there.
It's unclear whether Trump ever stored secret documents in the closet or “hidden room” at Mar-a-Lago, or whether Smith's team is considering another search warrant for the property.
After the FBI search, federal prosecutors urged Trump's legal team to ensure that no classified documents were left at Trump's property. However, it is unclear whether these prosecutors or Trump lawyers even knew about the “hidden room” or locked closet.
Armed Secret Service agents stand outside an entrance to Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate in August 2022 as FBI agents search for secret documents from the White House
Special Counsel Jack Smith (left) investigates whether former President Donald Trump conspired to hide classified documents from the FBI
Numerous classified documents were found during an FBI raid on Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate
Trump allegedly had the lock on the cabinet replaced.
For years, the closet's lock was managed by the Secret Service, but on June 2, 2022, Trump had it changed and wanted the key, sources told ABC News.
When FBI agents reached the locked closet near the front of Trump's apartment building, they couldn't find a key to it and learned that the room behind the door – an old stairwell converted into a closet with shelves – led nowhere, so they decided Not to break it up, sources told the news station.
After Trump received a federal subpoena in June 2022 demanding the return of all classified documents at Mar-a-Lago, his lawyer was instructed to look in the basement, according to the indictment.
While he was doing this, Trump reportedly ordered the lock on the cabinet to be changed. It's unclear whether FBI agents who searched the apartment knew the lock had recently been changed.
The former president's alleged efforts to hide classified documents from the FBI are a central part of Smith's prosecution of Trump in Florida.
The indictment also details the role of Walter Nauta, Trump's former military aide who left the White House after his presidency to go with him to Mar-a-Lago.
The indictment alleges that Trump went through several boxes of documents before they were returned to the National Archives – and he did so with the help of Nauta.
Between November 2021 and January 2022, Nauta and another associate brought boxes of documents to Trump's Social Club apartment and sent the former president a photo to confirm they were there, the indictment says.
Nauta told the employee that Trump was “working” on the boxes. There were reports that the former president reviewed the material before sending it to the National Archives.
Walter Nauta serves as an adviser and golfing partner to the former president and has remained at his side since leaving office while others have left office
This image, included in the indictment against former President Donald Trump, shows boxes of records in a storage room at Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida, that had fallen over and spilled their contents onto the floor
The indictment includes several text messages between Nauta and another associate about transporting various boxes to the residence for Trump.
On January 17, 2022, Nauta returned 15 boxes to the archives.
The indictment accuses Nauta of providing false information to investigators, denying that he transported the boxes.
It said Trump ordered Nauta to transport boxes of documents “to hide them from Trump's attorney, the FBI and the grand jury,” and that Trump suggested his attorney “falsely claim” to the FBI that Trump had no documents that he had to comply with the subpoena.