(WASHINGTON) — Attorney General Merrick Garland on Thursday announced he has named former U.S. Attorney for the District of Maryland Robert Hur as a special counsel in the Biden classified documents matter.
The development comes after the White House revealed Thursday morning that more classified documents had been found at President Joe Biden’s Wilmington home, in addition to those discovered at his personal office in Washington, D.C.
Garland had tasked U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois John Lausch with conducting a preliminary review of incident, according to sources familiar with the matter.
A senior Justice Department official said, “This is not a decision [Garland] made lightly but the regulations could not be more clear that based on the facts that resulted from U.S.Attorney Lausch’s initial investigation an appointment of a special counsel in this manner is required.”
“This is a textbook case of what is required under the regulations,” the official said.
Congressional Republicans have called on Garland to name a special counsel in the Biden case, just as he did with regard to the classified documents found at former President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago residence.
Earlier this week, the White House said lawyers for President Biden had also found classified documents from 2013 to 2016 in his office at the Penn Biden Center – a think tank in Washington, in November.
Asked about the latest documents revelation Thursday morning, Biden said, “The Department of Justice was immediately — as was done, the Department of Justice was immediately notified and the lawyers arranged for the Department of Justice to take possession of the documents.
“So you’re going to see, we’re going to see all this unfold,” he said.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
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