Biden DOJ

mickeyrat · September 2022

gift article....

Justice Dept. Issues 40 Subpoenas in a Week, Expanding Its Jan. 6 Inquiry https://www.nytimes.com/2022/09/12/us/politics/trump-aides-jan-6-doj.html?unlocked_article_code=AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAACEIPuonUktbfqYhkQVUaASbIRp8_qRmHmfnE2_sgnGL7NG2cSDpP1KEXCo7FpQLBYqglZ8c2237TYu59B4IVZa44yP5DbQsqQhO0o5CAldMIKX1u84vrByZvhMrAGO1ooGGvZzK3JqIhzrCy4UzcYWLrD6fPwDZ2clYe1JhvcF2u3XQMwL6UUbImn4kjgopyQ8xyVjwCZyKVvvn3Cx4YO92OahzU6gVeSPgOEHiI3obas-RcBV0UXVHWT3p_4nI-4MdcP74XPKX4Kh0jf6nukM25k5IpjsRb_cFFbAJzZik

mickeyrat · September 2022

uh huh.....

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/merrick-garland-lulled-trumpworld-into-a-false-sense-of-security-and-is-now-hitting-the-gas-prosecutor/ar-AA11KQkN?ocid=msedgdhp&pc=U531&cvid=5b44b695760a4b59b9561752b17f0abc

mickeyrat · October 2022

https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-technology-latvia-government-and-politics-nuclear-proliferation-a1dff9aa93f491c72e5216e4e4ecb457

Russia-Ukraine war Global trade Latvia Merrick Garland Nuclear proliferation Government and politics

US busts network providing technology to Russian military

By ERIC TUCKER and FATIMA HUSSEIN

Yesterday

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration on Wednesday announced a round of criminal charges and sanctions related to a complicated scheme to procure military technologies from U.S. manufacturers and illegally supply them to Russia for its war in Ukraine.

Some of the equipment was recovered on battlefields in Ukraine, the Justice Department said, and other nuclear proliferation technology was intercepted in Latvia before it could be shipped to Russia.

The Justice Department charged nearly a dozen people in separate cases in New York and Connecticut, including Russian nationals accused of purchasing sensitive military technologies from U.S. companies and laundering tens of millions of dollars for wealthy Russian businessmen; Latvians accused of conspiring to smuggle equipment to Russian and oil brokers for Venezuela accused of working on illicit deals for a Venezuelan state-owned oil company.

“As I have said, our investigators and prosecutors will be relentless in their efforts to identify, locate, and bring to justice those whose illegal acts undermine the rule of law and enable the Russian regime to continue its unprovoked invasion of Ukraine,” Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a statement.

RUSSIA-UKRAINE WAR

Live updates | Russia-Ukraine War

US: Iranian troops in Crimea backing Russian drone strikes

Analysis: The ripples of the war Russia says isn't a war

Ukraine's utilities threatened by Russia in war's new phase

Five of the defendants charged in New York are Russian nationals, and two have been arrested. Two others are oil brokers for Venezuela.

All four defendants in the Connecticut case — three Latvians and one Ukrainian — were taken into custody months ago at the request of U.S. authorities.

They are accused of conspiring to smuggle a jig grinder, a high-precision grinding machine, that was manufactured in Connecticut to Russia. The equipment requires a license for export or reexport to Russia.

The criminal charges complement the latest round of Biden administration sanctions targeting Russia.

The Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control announced sanctions Wednesday against one of the men charged by the Justice Department, designating Yury Orekhov and two of his firms, Nord-Deutsche Industrieanlagenbau GmbH and Opus Energy Trading LLC, for procuring advanced semiconductors and microprocessors used in fighter aircraft and ballistic and hypersonic missile systems among other military uses.

Orekhov and the firms ultimately sent the materials to Russian end-users, including companies designated by various federal agencies, in violation of U.S. export controls. Prosecutors say Orekhov was arrested in Germany. It was not immediately clear if he had a lawyer who could speak on his behalf.

The Justice Department, Federal Bureau of Investigation, and Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control worked in coordination to identify the Russian network.

Along with sanctions on members of Russian President Vladimir Putin's inner-circle, the U.S. has frozen Russian Central Bank funds and imposed aggressive export controls.

The latest effort is dedicated to preventing Russia from procuring military technologies.

Deputy Treasury Secretary Wally Adeyemo said in a statement Wednesday that Russia has increasingly struggled to get the technologies it needs to sustain the war “thanks to the unprecedented sanctions and export controls imposed by our broad coalition of partners and allies.”

“We know these efforts are having a direct effect on the battlefield," he said, “as Russia’s desperation has led them to turn to inferior suppliers and outdated equipment.”

Information from the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, presented Friday at the Treasury Department, said Russia has lost more than 6,000 pieces of equipment since the beginning of the war in late February and is turning to Iran and North Korea for supplies.

Russia is reliant on foreign production machinery and ongoing banking sanctions have undercut the Kremlin's ability to obtain financing for importing military equipment, the ODNI said.

—-

This version of the story corrects that 11 people, not nine, have been charged since total includes oil brokers.

mickeyrat · October 2022

https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/directors-resign-boards-five-companies-response-justice-department-concerns-about-potentially

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Wednesday, October 19, 2022

Directors Resign from the Boards of Five Companies in Response to Justice Department Concerns about Potentially Illegal Interlocking Directorates

Resignations Reflect Antitrust Division’s Efforts to Reinvigorate Enforcement and Deter Violations of Section 8 of the Clayton Act

continues......

Halifax2TheMax · October 2022

Just wait until the collusion, price fixing and profiteering runs rampant, silent and deep. So much winning. To come.

Halifax2TheMax · November 2022

Brandon’s DOJ should just refuse to comply. Tell ‘‘em to pound sand. Call it a witch-hunt.

https://www.cnn.com/2022/11/02/politics/jim-jordan-letter-doj-fbi/index.html

josevolution · November 2022

How can people vote for creeps like Gym turn away Jordan is beyond my comprehension!

Bentleyspop · November 2022

josevolution said:

How can people vote for creeps like Gym turn away Jordan is beyond my comprehension!

Lots of stupid in the world, in America, and clearly in his district

Gern Blansten · November 2022

Bentleyspop said:

josevolution said:

How can people vote for creeps like Gym turn away Jordan is beyond my comprehension!

Lots of stupid in the world, in America, and clearly in his district

OH is full of idiots that have no business voting GOP

mickeyrat · November 2022

https://apnews.com/article/boston-jill-biden-donald-trump-massachusetts-merrick-garland-a9569d4ce6c037474d61ee0d53e28565

Boston Jill Biden Donald Trump Massachusetts Merrick Garland Government and politics

AP sources: Justice Dept. watchdog probing Mass. US attorney

By ALANNA DURKIN RICHER and MICHAEL BALSAMO

Yesterday

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Justice Department's inspector general has opened an investigation of the top federal prosecutor in Massachusetts, prompted by U.S. Attorney Rachel Rollins' appearance at a political fundraiser featuring first lady Jill Biden, The Associated Press has learned.

An investigation by the department's internal watchdog targeting one of the nation’s 93 U.S. attorneys — political appointees who are some of the highest-ranking federal law enforcement officials — is highly unusual. The ethics concerns surrounding Rollins threaten to undermine Attorney General Merrick Garland’s efforts to restore the Justice Department’s reputation for political independence after tumultuous years under Republican President Donald Trump.

The inspector general's office is focusing on Rollins’ attendance at the Democratic National Committee event in July as well as her use of her personal cellphone to conduct official business, according to two people briefed on the investigation, which has been underway for weeks.

Also being examined is a trip that Rollins took to California that was paid for by an outside group, they said. They were not authorized to publicly discuss the ongoing investigation and spoke on condition of anonymity.

BOSTON

Gausman ejected after another hit batter in Red Sox-Orioles

Bergeron leads Bruins to 3-1 win over slumping Blues

Memphis takes on Boston, looks for 4th straight victory

Bruins' Neely: Team 'dropped the ball' in signing Miller

Anthony Coley, the department’s chief spokesman, declined to comment and referred all questions to the inspector general’s office. A spokeswoman for the inspector general, Michael Horowitz, said it is the office’s “general practice not to confirm or deny the existence of any ongoing investigation.”

A spokesperson for Rollins, Christina DiIorio-Sterling, said Rollins is “fully cooperating with the OIG investigation.” Rollins declined to answer specific questions from the AP.

It’s the second known federal investigation into Rollins less than a year into her tenure.

The inspector general's office generally investigates allegations of fraud, abuse or violation of other Justice Department policies. Any decision about the fate of a U.S. attorney — a Senate-confirmed post — would fall to President Joe Biden.

News outlets reported in August that the U.S. Office of Special Counsel, another federal watchdog agency, was examining whether Rollins’ attendance at the fundraiser violated the Hatch Act, a law that limits political activity by government workers. The investigation is in the early stages.

Rollins was a controversial pick to be Massachusetts' top federal law enforcer and she faced stiffed opposition from congressional Republicans for her progressive approach to crime. As district attorney for Suffolk County, which includes Boston, Rollins pushed ambitious criminal justice changes, most notably a policy not to prosecute certain low-level crimes such as shoplifting.

The Senate Judiciary Committee deadlocked on her nomination last year before she was confirmed by a 51-50 party-line vote, with Vice President Kamala Harris breaking the tie.

Rollins came under scrutiny after she was photographed in July arriving at a home in Andover, Massachusetts, where the DNC fundraiser with Jill Biden was held.

Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., said her appearance was a “blatant violation” of the Hatch Act by someone who is supposed to “act as a nonpartisan law enforcement official rather than as a partisan politician.” He asked Horowitz to investigate.

Rollins said in a July tweet that she “had approval" to meet the first lady and left the event early to speak at two community events.

According one person familiar with discussions before that event, Rollins was given limited permission to meet Jill Biden outside the home. The person was not authorized to discuss the matter publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.

Moving beyond that matter, investigators have copied the phone contents of some employees in Rollins' office as part of their look into Rollins' use of her personal device for Justice Department business, according to one of the people briefed on the investigation.

The use of a personal device — rather than a government-issued phone — by someone in Rollins' position raises possible security and public records retention concerns.

Investigators also have asked about Rollins' trip to California in June to speak at CAA Amplify, the annual gathering of entertainment, business and political figures run by one of Hollywood’s leading talent agencies, the Creative Artists Agency. The group paid for Rollins' trip, even though Justice Department employees are not supposed to accept payments for travel. The department later instructed Rollins to pay back the group, the people familiar with the investigation said.

Rollins' appearance at the DNC fundraiser may have contributed to new political restrictions for Justice Department appointees.

Garland told department employees in August that political appointees would no longer be allowed to go to fundraisers and other campaign events. Such appointees, who are hired under presidential administrations rather than making long careers at the Justice Department, had been allowed to attend political events passively on their personal time with prior approval. The new policy bans attendance altogether.

“It is critical that we hold ourselves to the highest ethical standards to avoid even the appearance of political influence as we carry out the department’s mission," Garland said in a memo to employees.

____

This story has been corrected to reflect that the last name of Rollins' spokeperson is DiIorio-Sterling, not DiLorio-Sterling.

mickeyrat · November 2022

https://www.cnn.com/2022/11/29/politics/stephen-miller-testifies-january-6-federal-grand-jury-trump

Washington CNN —

Former Trump adviser Stephen Miller testified on Tuesday to a federal grand jury in Washington, DC, as part of the January 6, 2021, investigation, CNN has learned, making him the first known witness to testify since the Justice Department appointed a special counsel to oversee the criminal investigations around the former president.

Miller was at the federal courthouse in downtown Washington for several hours throughout Tuesday, according to a person familiar with the investigation. January 6 lead prosecutor Thomas Windom was spotted at the same federal courthouse on Tuesday.

Windom is expected to join the newly created Special Counsel’s Office led by longtime public corruption prosecutor Jack Smith and will continue leading the investigation into former President Donald Trump’s role in efforts to impede the transfer of power following the 2020 election.

continues.

mickeyrat · December 2022

https://apnews.com/article/wisconsin-arizona-donald-trump-0509a736c89010c0247a7b1428352689

Capitol siege Wisconsin Pennsylvania Arizona Donald Trump Biden cabinet Michigan Local elections Madison Subpoenas Merrick Garland Government and politics

DOJ subpoenas election officials in states Trump disputed

By SCOTT BAUER and JILL COLVIN

2 hours ago

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Special counsel Jack Smith has subpoenaed local election officials in Wisconsin, Michigan, Arizona and Pennsylvania, asking for communications with or involving former President Donald Trump, his 2020 campaign aides and a list of allies involved in his efforts to try to overturn the results of the election.

The requests, issued to Milwaukee and Dane counties in Wisconsin; Wayne County, Michigan; Maricopa County, Arizona; and Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, are the first known subpoenas by Smith, who was named special counsel last month by Attorney General Merrick Garland.

RELATED COVERAGE

Jan. 6 committee to issue criminal referrals, chairman says

Smith is overseeing the Justice Department’s investigation into the presence of classified documents at Trump’s Florida estate as well as key aspects of a separate probe involving the violent storming of the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, and Trump's frantic efforts to remain in power.

The subpoenas, some of which were first reported by The Washington Post, are the clearest indication yet that Smith’s work will include an examination of the fake electors that were part of Trump’s efforts to subvert the election count and certification. All of the states where requests were sent are states that Trump and his allies targeted as they tried to overturn the democratic vote.

In Pennsylvania, for instance, Trump’s campaign sued unsuccessfully in court to try to overturn President Joe Biden's victory, and his allies organized a Trump slate of electors to send to Congress. Trump and his allies also repeatedly contacted top Republican lawmakers, at times asking about using the GOP-controlled legislature to give lawmakers the power to overturn the election. They refused.

The subpoenas, two of which were obtained by The Associated Press, request “any and all communications in any form” between June 1, 2020, and Jan. 20, 2021, “to, from, or involving” Trump, his campaign, lawyers and aides, including but not limited to former campaign officials like Bill Stepien and Justin Clark and lawyers John Eastman, Boris Epshteyn, Sidney Powell and former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani.

In Wisconsin, Milwaukee County Clerk George Christenson said he received a subpoena on Monday and is working with the county’s attorney to comply with the request as soon as possible.

WISCONSIN

New high in spending by outside groups in Wisconsin election

Republican kicked out of caucus running for Wis. Senate

Wisconsin QB Graham Mertz says he's entering transfer portal

Clark, No. 10 Iowa beat Wisconsin for 26th straight time

“I don’t see any issues with it,” he said. “Many of those names aren’t familiar to me, so I don't know how many of those individuals did reach out to us. For example, I don’t recall receiving anything from Rudy Giuliani. I think I would have remembered that. But who knows.”

Christenson said he hoped the documents would help with the investigation, but he didn’t expect to turn over anything that hasn’t already been made public.

“I don’t expect to find any smoking gun,” Christenson said.

Dane County Clerk Scott McDonell said he received a similar subpoena on Dec. 1, asking for communications he had with “the gang of people you would sort of expect.”

McDonell said the only person on the list that his office had interaction with was Jim Troupis, Trump’s Wisconsin-based attorney. Trump ordered a recount of ballots cast in Milwaukee and Dane counties, the two largest Democratic counties in Wisconsin, following the 2020 election. Troupis spearheaded the legal effort not to count tens of thousands of ballots cast absentee in that election, including his own.

McDonell said he didn’t expect his response to the subpoena to reveal anything that “hasn’t been covered in the past.”

“I don’t have any stories of Trump calling me at dinner like the other guys,” McDonell said.

In Michigan, Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson confirmed that Wayne County had received a subpoena from Smith but did not provide additional information on what it was seeking.

“We welcome and support the work of any law enforcement agency working to ensure full accountability for efforts to illegally overturn the fair and accurate results of Michigan’s 2020 election,” Benson said in a statement sent to The Associated Press.

Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election in Michigan centered on Detroit’s convention hall, which is located in Wayne County. Trump falsely claimed poll workers there “were duplicating ballots,” and an unsuccessful lawsuit by his campaign on Election Day forced election workers to temporarily halt the tallying of votes in the state’s largest city.

Another lawsuit was filed by several attorneys, including Trump allies Powell and L. Lin Wood, after the 2020 election on behalf of six Republican voters who wanted a federal judge to decertify Michigan’s results and impound voting machines. The judge declined, calling the request “stunning in its scope and breathtaking in its reach.”

Trump and his allies also focused on voting machines in Antrim County, which is located just north of Detroit. Republican attorney general candidate Matthew DePerno, who lost to Democratic incumbent Dana Nessel in the 2022 midterms, sued Antrim County, claiming voting machines there recorded votes for Trump as being for Biden. A Michigan special prosecutor is currently reviewing whether to criminally charge DePerno and others for attempting to gain access to voting machines after that election.

Angela Benander, a spokesperson for the Michigan Department of State, said the department wasn't aware of any other counties being issued subpoenas from Smith.

In Arizona, Maricopa County also received a subpoena and will comply, said county spokesperson Fields Moseley.

The county, which includes the Phoenix area and more than 60% of Arizona voters, had been a centerpiece of Trump’s efforts to overturn the election and cast doubt on the results.

Trump allies tried to pressure Republicans on the county board of supervisors not to certify his loss in 2020, and when they did so, continued trying to reach them as Congress prepared to tally the electoral votes on Jan. 6. Clint Hickman, then the chairman of the board, dodged calls from the White House operator, who left voicemails saying the president was trying to reach him.

In Pennsylvania, Allegheny County, the state’s second-most populous and home to Pittsburgh, received a subpoena as well, a spokesperson confirmed.

A Justice Department spokesperson declined to comment Tuesday.

In addition to the DOJ, Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis has also been investigating whether Trump and his allies illegally tried to interfere in the 2020 election in Georgia. ___

Colvin reported from New York. Associated Press writers Joey Cappelletti in Lansing, Michigan, Jonathan J. Cooper in Phoenix, Marc Levy in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, and Eric Tucker in Washington contributed to this report.

mickeyrat · January 2023

https://apnews.com/article/classified-documents-biden-home-wilmington-33479d12c7cf0a822adb2f44c32b88fd

Joe Biden United States government U.S. Department of Justice Merrick Garland

Garland appoints special counsel to investigate Biden docs

By ZEKE MILLER and ERIC TUCKER

27 mins ago

WASHINGTON (AP) — Attorney General Merrick Garland on Thursday appointed a special counsel to investigate the presence of documents with classified markings found at President Joe Biden’s home in Wilmington, Delaware, and at an office in Washington.

The announcement followed Biden's acknowledgement Thursday morning that a document with classified markings from his time as vice president was found in his personal library, along with other classified documents found in his garage. Garland said Biden's lawyers informed the Justice Department Thursday morning of the discovery of a classified document at Biden's home, after FBI agents first retrieved other documents from the garage in December. It was disclosed on Monday that sensitive documents were found at the office of his former institute in Washington.

Robert Hur, the former Trump-appointed U.S. attorney in Maryland, will lead the investigation, taking over from the top Justice Department prosecutor in Chicago, John Lausch, who was earlier assigned by the department to investigate the matter and who recommended to Garland last week that a special counsel be appointed. Hur is to begin his work soon.

“The extraordinary circumstances here require the appointment of a special counsel for this matter,” Garland said, adding that Hur is authorized to investigate whether any person or entity violated the law.

“This appointment underscores for the public the department’s commitment to both independence and accountability in particularly sensitive matters, and to making decisions indisputably guided only by the facts and the law,” Garland said.

Biden told reporters at the White House that he was “cooperating fully and completely” with a Justice Department investigation into how classified information and government records were stored.

“We have cooperated closely with the Justice Department throughout its review, and we will continue that cooperation with the special counsel,” said Richard Sauber, himself a special counsel to the president. "We are confident that a thorough review will show that these documents were inadvertently misplaced, and the president and his lawyers acted promptly upon discovery of this mistake.”

Biden's lawyers found the first set of documents in a locked closet in the offices of the Biden Penn Center in Washington on Nov. 2, just before the midterm elections, but publicly revealed that development only on Monday.

Sauber said that after Biden's personal lawyers found the initial documents, they examined other locations where records might have been shipped after Biden left the vice presidency in 2017.

Biden did not say when the latest documents were found at his home, only that his lawyers’ review of potential storage locations was completed Wednesday night.

Sauber said a “small number” with classified markings were found in a storage space in Biden's garage in Wilmington, with one document being located in an adjacent room. Biden later revealed that the other location was his personal library.

Garland said Biden attorneys located documents in the Wilmington garage on Dec. 20 and that Federal Bureau of Investigation agents took custody of them shortly thereafter. The Justice Department was informed only on Thursday of the latest found by Biden’s lawyers.

The appointment of yet another special counsel to investigate the handling of classified documents is a remarkable turn of events, legally and politically, for a Justice Department that has spent months looking into the retention by Donald Trump of more than 300 documents with classification markings found at the former president’s Florida estate.

Though the situations are factually and legally different, the discovery of classified documents at two separate locations tied to Biden — as well as the appointment of a new special counsel — would almost certainly complicate any prosecution that the department might bring against Trump.

“I will conduct the assigned investigation with fair, impartial and dispassionate judgment," he said in a statement after his appointment. "I intend to follow the facts swiftly and thoroughly, without fear or favor and will honor the trust placed in me to perform this service.”

New House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, a California Republican, said of the latest news: “I think Congress has to investigate this."

“Here’s an individual that sat on ‘60 Minutes’ that was so concerned about President Trump’s documents locked in behind, and now we find that this is a vice president keeping it for years out in the open in different locations.”

JOE BIDEN

House votes to block China from buying oil from US reserves

Late Pentagon chief Ash Carter honored as 'force of nature'

Dem lawmakers urge Biden to void visa of Brazil's Bolsonaro

Emhoff to visit Poland and Germany amid rising antisemitism

Contradicting several fellow Republicans, he said, “We don't think there needs to be a special prosecutor.”

The top Republican on the House Intelligence Committee has requested that intelligence agencies conduct a “damage assessment” of potentially classified documents. Ohio Rep. Mike Turner on Thursday also requested briefings from Garland and the director of national intelligence, Avril Haines, on their reviews by Jan. 26.

“The presence of classified information at these separate locations could implicate the President in the mishandling, potential misuse, and exposure of classified information," Turner wrote the officials.

The revelation that additional classified documents were uncovered by Biden’s team came hours after White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre dodged questions about Biden’s handling of classified information and the West Wing’s management of the discovery.

She had said Wednesday that the White House was committed to handling the matter in the “right way,” pointing to Biden’s personal attorneys’ immediate notification of the National Archives.

But she refused to say when Biden himself had been briefed, whether there were any more classified documents potentially located at other unauthorized locations, and why the White House waited more than two months to reveal the discovery of the initial batch of documents.

Biden has said he was “surprised to learn that there are any government records that were taken there to that office” but his lawyers “did what they should have done” when they immediately called the National Archives.

___

Associated Press writers Nomaan Merchant and Kevin Freking contributed to this report.

Halifax2TheMax · January 2023

mickeyrat said:

https://apnews.com/article/classified-documents-biden-home-wilmington-33479d12c7cf0a822adb2f44c32b88fd

Joe Biden United States government U.S. Department of Justice Merrick Garland
Garland appoints special counsel to investigate Biden docs
By ZEKE MILLER and ERIC TUCKER
27 mins ago
WASHINGTON (AP) — Attorney General Merrick Garland on Thursday appointed a special counsel to investigate the presence of documents with classified markings found at President Joe Biden’s home in Wilmington, Delaware, and at an office in Washington.
The announcement followed Biden's acknowledgement Thursday morning that a document with classified markings from his time as vice president was found in his personal library, along with other classified documents found in his garage. Garland said Biden's lawyers informed the Justice Department Thursday morning of the discovery of a classified document at Biden's home, after FBI agents first retrieved other documents from the garage in December. It was disclosed on Monday that sensitive documents were found at the office of his former institute in Washington.
Robert Hur, the former Trump-appointed U.S. attorney in Maryland, will lead the investigation, taking over from the top Justice Department prosecutor in Chicago, John Lausch, who was earlier assigned by the department to investigate the matter and who recommended to Garland last week that a special counsel be appointed. Hur is to begin his work soon.
“The extraordinary circumstances here require the appointment of a special counsel for this matter,” Garland said, adding that Hur is authorized to investigate whether any person or entity violated the law.
“This appointment underscores for the public the department’s commitment to both independence and accountability in particularly sensitive matters, and to making decisions indisputably guided only by the facts and the law,” Garland said.
Biden told reporters at the White House that he was “cooperating fully and completely” with a Justice Department investigation into how classified information and government records were stored.
“We have cooperated closely with the Justice Department throughout its review, and we will continue that cooperation with the special counsel,” said Richard Sauber, himself a special counsel to the president. "We are confident that a thorough review will show that these documents were inadvertently misplaced, and the president and his lawyers acted promptly upon discovery of this mistake.”
Biden's lawyers found the first set of documents in a locked closet in the offices of the Biden Penn Center in Washington on Nov. 2, just before the midterm elections, but publicly revealed that development only on Monday.
Sauber said that after Biden's personal lawyers found the initial documents, they examined other locations where records might have been shipped after Biden left the vice presidency in 2017.
Biden did not say when the latest documents were found at his home, only that his lawyers’ review of potential storage locations was completed Wednesday night.
Sauber said a “small number” with classified markings were found in a storage space in Biden's garage in Wilmington, with one document being located in an adjacent room. Biden later revealed that the other location was his personal library.
Garland said Biden attorneys located documents in the Wilmington garage on Dec. 20 and that Federal Bureau of Investigation agents took custody of them shortly thereafter. The Justice Department was informed only on Thursday of the latest found by Biden’s lawyers.
The appointment of yet another special counsel to investigate the handling of classified documents is a remarkable turn of events, legally and politically, for a Justice Department that has spent months looking into the retention by Donald Trump of more than 300 documents with classification markings found at the former president’s Florida estate.
Though the situations are factually and legally different, the discovery of classified documents at two separate locations tied to Biden — as well as the appointment of a new special counsel — would almost certainly complicate any prosecution that the department might bring against Trump.
“I will conduct the assigned investigation with fair, impartial and dispassionate judgment," he said in a statement after his appointment. "I intend to follow the facts swiftly and thoroughly, without fear or favor and will honor the trust placed in me to perform this service.”
New House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, a California Republican, said of the latest news: “I think Congress has to investigate this."
“Here’s an individual that sat on ‘60 Minutes’ that was so concerned about President Trump’s documents locked in behind, and now we find that this is a vice president keeping it for years out in the open in different locations.”
JOE BIDEN
House votes to block China from buying oil from US reserves
Late Pentagon chief Ash Carter honored as 'force of nature'
Dem lawmakers urge Biden to void visa of Brazil's Bolsonaro
Emhoff to visit Poland and Germany amid rising antisemitism
Contradicting several fellow Republicans, he said, “We don't think there needs to be a special prosecutor.”
The top Republican on the House Intelligence Committee has requested that intelligence agencies conduct a “damage assessment” of potentially classified documents. Ohio Rep. Mike Turner on Thursday also requested briefings from Garland and the director of national intelligence, Avril Haines, on their reviews by Jan. 26.
“The presence of classified information at these separate locations could implicate the President in the mishandling, potential misuse, and exposure of classified information," Turner wrote the officials.
The revelation that additional classified documents were uncovered by Biden’s team came hours after White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre dodged questions about Biden’s handling of classified information and the West Wing’s management of the discovery.
She had said Wednesday that the White House was committed to handling the matter in the “right way,” pointing to Biden’s personal attorneys’ immediate notification of the National Archives.
But she refused to say when Biden himself had been briefed, whether there were any more classified documents potentially located at other unauthorized locations, and why the White House waited more than two months to reveal the discovery of the initial batch of documents.
Biden has said he was “surprised to learn that there are any government records that were taken there to that office” but his lawyers “did what they should have done” when they immediately called the National Archives.
___
Associated Press writers Nomaan Merchant and Kevin Freking contributed to this report.

Doesn't matter. Brandon has super duper impunity and immunity and the docs are his anyway. Case closed.

gimmesometruth27 · January 2023

so let me get this straight. biden has docs and 4 days later special prosecutor and likely impeachment.

trump has hundreds of docs that he knowingly kept and even hid. open and shut case, and nobody is being held accountable.

gotcha.