House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer pledged swift action from Congress after the White House’s latest disclosure that President Biden’s aides discovered five additional pages of classified documents at his Wilmington, Delaware home.
The Kentucky Republican said the slow trickle of disclosures from the White House as Mr. Biden’s classified document saga unfolds has raised serious concerns.
“We first learned about the Penn Biden Center classified documents months after they were found in an unsecure closet,” Mr. Comer said. “Then it took the White House weeks to inform the public about the documents found in President Biden’s Wilmington garage. And now days later, we are learning that there are more documents at the Wilmington residence.”
“President Biden’s three strikes against transparency will be met with swift congressional oversight,” he said.
The White House confirmed on Monday that classified government documents dating back to Mr. Biden’s time as vice president in the Obama White House were discovered at a Washington office building that he used when he was an honorary professor at the University of Pennsylvania.
The documents were discovered on Nov. 2, just six days before the midterm elections. The matter only became public when it was uncovered by CBS News.
A second batch of classified documents was later found in Mr. Biden’s Wilmington garage by White House aides. Mr. Biden’s staff notified the Justice Department that it had discovered the second batch on Dec. 20.
That batch was confirmed by the White House on Thursday in a statement disclosing that Mr. Biden’s lawyers had discovered a “small number” of additional materials with classified markings. All but one of those documents was said to be found in a storage space in Mr. Biden’s garage.
Another document, which consisted of one page, the White House said, was discovered among stored materials in an adjacent room.
The White House’s latest disclosure on Saturday adds to the tally previously disclosed by the administration.
Richard Sauber, special counsel to the president, said he discovered the additional documents Thursday evening while he was at the residence to facilitate the transfer of the previously disclosed classified document to the Justice Department.
“The Biden White House’s secrecy in this matter is alarming,” Mr. Comer said. “Equally alarming is the fact that Biden aides were combing through documents knowing there would be a Special Counsel appointed.”
Attorney General Merrick Garland appointed special counsel Robert K. Hur to oversee the Justice Department’s investigation into why the classified documents were at Mr. Biden’s residence on the same day the second batch of documents was revealed.
Earlier this week, the House Oversight Committee launched a separate probe into Mr. Biden’s handling of classified information.
Mr. Comer has demanded that the National Archives and White House counsel turn over several documents to the committee by Jan. 24.
“Many questions need to be answered but one thing is certain: oversight is coming,” the chairman said.
• Joseph Clark can be reached at jclark@washingtontimes.com.
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