Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer (R-KY) wrote a letter to White House counsel on Tuesday demanding the disclosure of all the documents retrieved from the Penn Biden Center that President Joe Biden stashed there, including classified briefings and documents pertaining to Iran and Ukraine dated between 2013 and 2016.
“To assist Committee Republicans in investigating President Biden’s recent mishandling of classified information, please provide the following documents and information no later than January 24, 2023,” Comer stated. The demand did not include a subpoena.
Comer demanded the following documents and information:
1. All documents retrieved from President Biden’s personal office at the Penn Biden Center;
2. All internal documents and communications regarding the documents retrieved from President Biden’s personal office at the Penn Biden Center;
3. A list of all people who had access to President Biden’s personal office at the Penn Biden Center;
4. All documents and communications related to the handling of the classified material by President Biden’s personal lawyers — including but not limited to their security clearance status; and
5. All documents and communications between or among the White House and the Department of Justice or NARA [National Archives and Records Administration] regarding the documents retrieved from President Biden’s personal office at the Penn Biden Center.
Comer is not the only congressional committee chair requesting information about the mishandling of classified information. Sen. Mark Warner (D-VA), the chair of the Senate’s Select Committee on Intelligence, demanded a briefing from President Joe Biden’s Justice Department on Tuesday. The requested briefing flies in the face of the media’s decision to downplay the national security breach.
Biden stashed the documents at the Penn Biden Center. The University of Pennsylvania reportedly received more than $54 million in donations from China between 2014 and 2019. Most of these donations to the university were made after the creation of the Penn Biden Center was announced in 2017, according to the New York Post. Critics fear the Chinese Communist Party could have donated money to gain access to Biden’s classified trove.
The University of Pennsylvania has denied that the Penn Biden Center received any money from Chinese donors.
On Tuesday, Biden was questioned about the security breach, for which he could not provide any credible explanation.
“I don’t know what’s in the documents. My lawyers have not suggested I ask what documents they were,” Biden said, noting he was surprised at the discovery.
“I was briefed about this discovery, and surprised to learn that there are any government records that were taken there to that office,” Biden said.
Mike Davis, founder and president of the pro-Trump Article III Project, called Biden’s claim “nonsense.”
“Biden moved these stolen classified records twice: a. Before January 20, 2017 (left White House) b. After moving into new office in February 2018,” he tweeted. “Biden had these stolen classified records in his personal files. Garland must appoint a Special Counsel.”
Nonsense.
1. Biden moved these stolen classified records twice:
a. Before January 20, 2017 (left White House)
b. After moving into new office in February 2018
2. Biden had these stolen classified records in his personal files.
Garland must appoint a Special Counsel. pic.twitter.com/YGNBlqbtj5
— 🇺🇸 Mike Davis 🇺🇸 (@mrddmia) January 11, 2023
Correction: This story was updated to reflect that the $54.6 million in donations from China went to the University of Pennsylvania; a university spokesperson stated that the Penn Biden Center “has never solicited or received any gifts from any Chinese or other foreign entity.” A quote by President Biden was also corrected.
Follow Wendell Husebø on Twitter @WendellHusebø. He is the author of Politics of Slave Morality.
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