One of Vice President Mike Pence’s lawyers reportedly found a dozen classified documents at Pence’s home in Indiana last week. Pence promptly turned the classified documents over to the FBI.
“The classified documents were discovered at Pence’s new home in Carmel, Indiana, by a lawyer for Pence in the wake of the revelations about classified material discovered in President Joe Biden’s private office and residence, the sources said. The discovery comes after Pence has repeatedly said he did not have any classified documents in his possession,” CNN reported. “The FBI and the Justice Department’s National Security Division have launched a review of the documents and how they ended up in Pence’s house in Indiana.”
It is not yet known what the documents are related to or their level of classification. According to the report, “Pence asked his lawyer with experience handling classified material to conduct the search of his home out of an abundance of caution. Sources said that the attorney, Matt Morgan, began going through four boxes stored at Pence’s house last week, finding a small number of documents with classified markings.”
Pence’s lawyer immediately notified the National Archives, which then informed the Department of Justice.
In a letter to the National Archives obtained by CNN, Pence’s representative to the Archives Greg Jacob explained the discovery of a “small number of documents bearing classified markings that were inadvertently boxed and transported to the personal home of the former Vice President at the end of the last Administration.”
“Vice President Pence was unaware of the existence of sensitive or classified documents at his personal residence. Vice President Pence understands the high importance of protecting sensitive and classified information and stands ready and willing to cooperate fully with the National Archives and any appropriate inquiry,” Jacob wrote. “Following press reports of classified documents at the personal home of President Biden, out of an abundance of caution, on Monday, January 16, Vice President Pence engaged outside counsel, with experience in handling classified documents, to review records stored in his personal home.”
“Counsel identified a small number of documents that could potentially contain sensitive or classified information interspersed throughout the records,” he continued. “Vice President Pence’s counsel, however, is unable to provide an exact description of the folders or briefing materials that may contain sensitive or classified information because counsel did not review the contents of the documents once an indicator of potential classification was identified. Vice President Pence immediately secured those documents in a locked safe pending further direction on proper handling from the National Archives.”
“Vice President Pence has directed his representatives to work with the National Archives to ensure their prompt and secure return,” Jacob added. “Vice President Pence appreciates the good work of the staff at the National Archives and trusts they will provide proper counsel in response to this letter.”
