Sen. Mark Warner (D-VA) offered a warning to past presidents and vice presidents to “check your closets” just hours after it was revealed more classified documents were recovered by the FBI, this time from the private residence of former Vice President Mike Pence.
“I would have thought … that anyone who served in any of these roles as president and vice president that are still living would say: go check your closets,” said Warner, who serves as the chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee.
CLASSIFIED DOCUMENTS FOUND IN MIKE PENCE’S INDIANA HOME
His comments come after reports emerged on Tuesday that a small number of classified documents were found in Pence’s personal residence in Indiana earlier this month.
Pence officials found two boxes of possible classified materials inside the home on Jan. 18, as well as another two boxes that contained copies of vice presidential papers, according to CNN. The vice president’s team notified the National Archives and Records Administration upon its discovery, officials said. The National Archives then informed the FBI, which will conduct its standard procedure.
The documents were not stored in a secure area, prompting officials to store the documents in a safe until they were handed over to the National Archives. The documents were then handed to the FBI the next day on Jan. 19.
Reports of the discovery mark the latest in the monthslong saga of officials investigating classified documents that have been discovered in top officials’ homes, including President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump. The latest discovery at Pence’s home also comes as the former vice president mulls a White House bid in 2024, possibly throwing his campaign into uncertainty.
Pence notified Congress of the discovery on Tuesday, agreeing to cooperate with an investigation by the House Committee on Oversight and Accountability.
“He has agreed to fully cooperate with congressional oversight and any questions we have about the matter,” committee Chairman James Comer said in a statement. “Former Vice President Pence’s transparency stands in stark contrast to Biden White House staff who continue to withhold information from Congress and the American people.”
Biden has been under intense scrutiny since earlier this month after classified documents were found at the Penn Biden Center in Washington, D.C., and his personal residence in Wilmington, Delaware. That criticism only intensified over the weekend after six more classified items were found in his Delaware home on Friday.
It’s not clear how many classified documents were found in Biden’s possession, with White House officials only describing it as a “small number.”
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Biden faces a slew of investigations into his handling of classified documents by the Department of Justice, as well as congressional Republicans. Trump faces a number of similar investigations.
The Washington Examiner has reached out to former Presidents Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, and Barack Obama about whether they have conducted searches for classified documents. All of Clinton’s classified materials were properly turned over to the National Archives in accordance with the Presidential Records Act, Clinton’s office told the Washington Examiner.
