US President Joe Biden said on Thursday there is “no there there” as he was questioned about the discovery of classified documents and official records at his home and former office.
“We found a handful of documents were filed in the wrong place,” Biden said to reporters who questioned him during a tour of the damage from storms in California, as quoted by The Associated Press. “We immediately turned them over to the Archives and the Justice Department.”
Biden said he was “fully cooperating and looking forward to getting this resolved quickly.”
“I think you’re going to find there’s nothing there,” he said. “There’s no there there.”
Last week, a White House lawyer said that a “small number of documents” with classified markings that are tied to Biden and appear to be from the Obama administration are under review by the Justice Department and National Archives.
Two days later, it was reported that aides to Biden discovered at least one additional batch of classified documents in a location separate from the Washington office he used after leaving the Obama administration.
The White House on Saturday said it had discovered five additional pages of classified documents at Biden's home on Thursday, the same day a special counsel was appointed to review the matter.
The discovery of the documents at the Washington office was on November 2. But the White House did not disclose the findings until after they were reported by CBS News last week.
Attorney General Merrick Garland last week appointed Robert Hur, a former Maryland US attorney, to serve as special counsel to oversee the Justice Department’s inquiry into the documents.
Biden commented on the initial findings for the first time last week, telling reporters he was “surprised” that the documents were found.
The President added that his attorneys “did what they should have done” when they immediately called the National Archives about the discovery.
House Republicans are demanding that the White House turn over all information related to its searches that have uncovered the classified documents.