Feb. 7 (UPI) — The special counsel investigation of classified documents found at President Joe Biden’s residences has concluded with no charges likely, Attorney General Merrick Garland said Wednesday.
Special counsel Robert Hur ended his investigation and submitted his report to the Justice Department on Monday, Garland reported to House and Senate leaders.
A White House privilege review hasn’t concluded, but Garland said the Justice Department will make “as much of the special counsel’s report public as possible.”
He said the Department of Justice will provide members of Congress with the report, appendices and Hur’s letter after the White House review is done.
The investigation largely involves Biden’s retention of classified documents while he was vice president and after leaving office in January 2017.
Biden allegedly retained the documents in error instead of returning them to the National Archives and Records Administration, CBS News reported.
The classified documents were placed in two storage units and eventually wound up in a private office used by Biden. Some documents also were found in boxes inside Biden’s garage at his home in Wilmington, Del.
A search of Biden’s Rehoboth Beach house in Delaware and at the University of Delaware did not locate more documents.
An additional 10 classified documents were found at the Penn-Biden Center for Diplomacy and Global Engagement in Washington, D.C., which prompted Garland to appoint Hur to investigate Biden’s handling of classified documents in January 2023, ABC News reported.
The classified documents date to Biden’s time as vice president under President Barack Obama, and several were marked as “top secret.”
The investigation by Hur included interviewing about 100 former and current White House and governmental employees. Hur also interviewed Hunter Biden and spent two days interviewing the president.
Biden has told reporters he was surprised to learn of the classified documents in his possession and denied breaking any federal laws.
Meanwhile, former President Donald Trump has been indicted on 40 counts of illegally possessing classified documents. Trump pleaded innocent to the charges against him and accused Justice Department officials of targeting Republicans.
Officials with the National Archives reported that Biden and his legal representatives cooperated with its search for missing classified documents but said Trump and his representatives intentionally withheld classified documents from investigators and the FBI.
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