The discovery of additional classified documents at the residences of President Biden and former Vice President Mike Pence and efforts from House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) to remove three Democrats from certain House committees will likely dominate this week’s Sunday shows circuit.
The saga of classified documents found at the residences and offices of Biden and former President Trump took a new turn earlier this week when officials confirmed that Pence’s attorney notified the National Archives last week of documents with classified markings that were “inadvertently boxed and transported” to his home in Indiana.
This development came after Justice Department (DOJ) officials found additional documents at Biden’s home in Wilmington, Del., last weekend while conducting a planned, agreed-upon search. Documents carrying classified markings have been found on a few occasions at his residence or his old office in Washington, D.C.
The total from all the discoveries before last Saturday’s was 11.
But the uncovering of Pence’s documents complicates the situation further, potentially both politically and legally. Biden has faced criticism from Republicans and questions from both parties over his handling of the documents, but his and Pence’s situations are similar in several notable ways, which could weaken Republican attacks on the president.
Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) called for the DOJ to search through Biden’s papers from his time as a senator that are being kept at the University of Delaware following the discoveries.
“How many classified documents are in Joe Biden’s Senate papers at the University of Delaware? It’s time for the DOJ to investigate,” Cruz tweeted Monday, ahead of the Pence documents being reported.
But Cruz, who will appear on Fox News Channel’s “Sunday Morning Futures,” defended Pence in an interview on Fox News after the document findings at Pence’s residence were reported, saying that Biden has not given any explanation of how the documents ended up at his residence and offices, and that it was too early to make conclusions about Pence’s documents.
Commentators have noted some similarities between the Biden and Pence discoveries. The documents found were from when both men served as vice president, and both immediately notified the National Archives and turned the documents over upon finding them.
Trump, on the other hand, delayed repeated requests from the National Archives for documents he took for months, leading up to the FBI’s search of his Mar-a-Lago property in Florida last August.
Leaders of the Senate Intelligence Committee, meanwhile, are trying to gain access to the documents found at Biden and Trump’s addresses. Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.), the chairman of the committee, said in an interview with CBS News that he and Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), the ranking member, are trying to review the documents.
Warner said the committee’s job is not to review if anyone mishandled the documents but determine if any U.S. intelligence was compromised as a result.
Warner and Rubio will both appear on CBS’ “Face the Nation.”
Attorney General Merrick Garland has appointed separate special counsels to investigate both Trump and Biden’s possible mishandling of documents, and some have called for one to be appointed to review Pence’s situation.
Although an investigation into the alleged mishandling itself is not under the purview of the Senate Intelligence Committee, Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), who will appear on NBC’s “Meet the Press,” has launched such an investigation on the House side.
He initiated an investigation earlier this month into both Biden’s alleged mishandling and the DOJ’s investigation into it in his capacity as the chairman of the House Judiciary Committee.
Some Democrats have also criticized Biden for the documents ending up in his residence and office, no matter who is ultimately responsible. Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), who is appearing on ABC’s “This Week,” said last week that the discovery lessens Biden’s “stature” regardless of who took the documents.
The Sunday shows will also likely feature McCarthy’s efforts to remove three Democrats, Reps. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.) and Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.), from specific committees over concerns he and other Republicans have raised about them.
The House Speaker officially denied Schiff and Swalwell from serving on the House Intelligence Committee on Tuesday, saying that they are unfit to serve on the committee or have access to critical national security information.
McCarthy, who will appear on “Face the Nation,” has maintained that his actions are not political retribution for Democrats removing Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) and Paul Gosar (R-Ariz.) from their committee assignments during the last session.
Schiff served as an impeachment manager during Trump’s first impeachment trial in 2020, which increased tension from supporters of the former president toward him. McCarthy has also accused Schiff of lying about Trump’s ties to Russia during the trial, through which Trump was ultimately acquitted.
Schiff has said McCarthy is only going after him for political reasons.
Swalwell has received criticism from Republicans over the connection between his 2014 re-election campaign and a woman who fundraised for him. The FBI has said she was a suspected Chinese spy, and Swalwell cut ties with her upon hearing it.
An FBI reportedly said in 2020 that Swalwell was not suspected of doing anything wrong, and Swalwell has maintained this and accused McCarthy of political motivations. But McCarthy said Swalwell is a national security risk.
The situation with Omar is somewhat more complicated, as McCarthy can prevent Schiff and Swalwell from serving on the intelligence committee in his capacity as speaker, but removing Omar from the House Foreign Affairs Committee requires a majority vote of the House.
McCarthy and other Republicans have slammed Omar for comments she has made criticizing Israel and raising allegations of antisemitism.
A few Republicans have said they will not support removing Omar from her committee, and others have shown some skepticism to the idea.
Schiff, Swalwell and Omar will all appear on CNN’s “State of the Union.”
Below is the full list of guests scheduled to appear on this week’s Sunday talk shows:
ABC’s “This Week” — attorney Ben Crump; Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.); Rep. Mike Turner (R-Ohio)
NBC’s “Meet the Press” — Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio); former Defense Secretary Robert Gates
CBS’ “Face the Nation” — House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.); Sens. Mark Warner (D-Va.) and Marco Rubio (R-Fla.)
CNN’s “State of the Union” — Crump; Reps. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.), Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) and Summer Lee (D-Pa.); Gov. Chris Sununu (R-N.H.)
“Fox News Sunday” — Reps. Michael McCaul (R-Texas) and Adam Smith (D-Wash.); Sen. Katie Britt (R-Ala.)
Fox News Channel’s “Sunday Morning Futures” — Sens. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and Mike Lee (R-Utah); former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo; Republican National Lawyers Association Chair and former Republican National Committee chair candidate Harmeet Dhillon; former House Oversight Chairman and Rep. Trey Gowdy (R-S.C.)