Justice Department investigators on Wednesday are conducting a search for classified documents at President Biden’s residence in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, his personal attorney announced.
“The search today is a further step in a thorough and timely DOJ process we will continue to fully support and facilitate. We will have further information at the conclusion of today’s search,” Bob Bauer, an attorney for Mr. Biden, said in a statement.
Mr. Bauer said the search was carried out with the president’s “full support and cooperation.” It was done without advance public notice to protect the investigation’s “operational security and integrity,” Mr. Bauer said.
Classified documents have been found at Mr. Biden’s home in Wilmington, Delaware, and at a former think-tank office he used in Washington.
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The search of Mr. Biden’s beach house marks the third publicly known FBI search for classified materials at a property associated with Mr. Biden.
FBI agents searched Mr. Biden’s Wilmington, Delaware, home last month. In November, the FBI searched the offices of the Penn Biden Center in Washington after the president’s attorneys found classified materials locked in a closet.
Mr. Biden spent the past weekend at Camp David, fueling speculation that his Rehoboth Beach house was in investigators’ crosshairs. He had spent a weekend at the residence last month, after investigators hunted for classified documents at the president’s Wilmington home.
The Justice Department had been mulling a request to search the Rehoboth Beach house, but wanted to request access to the property through the president’s lawyers rather than consider a warrant.
The search coincides with special counsel Robert Hur’s first formal week investigating the potential mishandling of classified documents. He was appointed last month by Attorney General Merrick Garland.
Mr. Biden has insisted he is fully cooperating with the Justice Department, but has also faced questions about being transparent on the matter.
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre has struggled to answer reporters’ questions about the situation and has been criticized for referring questions to the Justice Department, which refers reporters back to the White House.
• Jeff Mordock can be reached at jmordock@washingtontimes.com.
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