Turner laments ‘systemic problem’ in Biden, Pence handling of classified docs

Rep. Mike Turner (R-Ohio) said on Sunday the discovery of documents in the homes of President Biden and former Vice President Mike Pence shows a “systemic problem” in the executive branch regarding classified files.

“It’s just really astounding because it shows that there’s really a systemic problem here on the administration handling side of both the vice president’s office and president’s office,” he told Martha Raddatz on ABC’s “This Week.”

Turner said he believed such files would be more secure since the president has the power to classify and declassify them.

“The process of classifying documents is uniquely under the president by the Constitution,” he said. “The Supreme Court’s ruled that they have the ability to classify and declassify, so you would think that the handling of these documents would be even that much more secure.”

Department of Justice officials discovered additional documents at Biden’s Wilmington, Del., home last weekend while conducting a planned, agreed-upon search. Before the discovery of those documents, officials had previously found nearly a dozen documents in other private locations.

Days later, officials confirmed that Pence’s attorneys notified the National Archives of documents with classified markings that were “inadvertently boxed and transported” to his private residence in Indiana. Pence said he regretted the discovery.

Turner said the “chain of custody” needs to be investigated in both Biden’s and Pence’s handling of the documents. He said while Pence has denied any involvement in the transporting documents to his home, Biden may have taken documents home during his time as a senator while commuting on the train back to Delaware.

“The chain of custody in each of these issues is going to be important,” he said. “It certainly should be part of the Department of Justice investigation. How did these documents get where they were going and where we ultimately found them but also what happened to them in the interim?”

Sens. Mark Warner (D-Va.) and Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), the top members of the Senate Intelligence Committee, pushed for their panel to gain access to the classified documents found in former President Trump’s and Biden’s private homes.