Garland to make statement amid special counsel speculation on Biden docs

Attorney General Merrick Garland is expected to make an announcement Thursday afternoon, addressing the public the same day the White House confirmed the discovery of a second batch of classified documents from President Biden’s tenure as vice president.

The announcement comes as the Justice Department is under pressure to appoint a special counsel to oversee an investigation into the potential mishandling of the records.

Biden’s team in November discovered about 10 classified records in a center where he worked after leaving office in 2016. That resulted in a subsequent search, revealing an additional batch of records at Biden’s Delaware home.

The matter comes as the Justice Department has appointed a special counsel to oversee the investigation into former President Trump’s potential mishandling of records after some 300 documents bearing classified markings were discovered at Mar-a-Lago. 

Biden’s team alerted both the National Archives and the Justice Department of the matter shortly after their discovery, differing from Trump’s interaction with officials, who requested the documents multiple times, including through a subpoena and eventually a warrant to search his home.

But the appearance of the classified records has prompted calls for oversight from both Democrats and Republicans. While Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Mark Warner (D-Va.) requested a briefing on the matter, numerous Republicans have suggested that it should prompt the appointment of a special counsel.

“I think if you believe a special counsel is necessary to assure the public about the handling of classified documents by Donald Trump, you should apply a special counsel to the mishandling of classified documents by President Biden when he was vice president,” Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) said during an interview with Martha MacCallum on Fox News. 

The White House on Thursday again stressed their cooperation with authorities.

“We are fully cooperating with the National Archives and the Department of Justice in a process to ensure that any Obama-Biden Administration records are appropriately in the possession of the Archives,” attorney Richard Sauber said in a statement.

“As was done in the case of the Penn-Biden Center, the Department of Justice was immediately notified, and the lawyers arranged for the Department of Justice to take possession of these documents.”

Garland has thus far assigned the matter to the U.S. attorney in Chicago to investigate.

Updated at 12:38 p.m.