The discovery of classified materials in former Vice President Mike Pence’s Indiana home could temper the political storm gathering around President Joe Biden as the investigations into his handling of secret documents get underway.
Federal agents this month collected about a dozen documents marked classified from Pence’s home after the former vice president’s lawyer notified the government to turn them over.
The revelation has fostered a comparison between the cases, namely that Biden, like Pence, acted proactively to return the materials to the National Archives.
It has also fueled the suggestion that classified documents spillage is not uncommon, even as Biden’s team seeks to draw a distinction from former President Donald Trump, who faced an FBI raid over a dispute involving the return of materials to the National Archives.
“It has quieted the storm,” Democratic strategist Brad Bannon said. “Americans are looking at this as ‘everybody does it’: First, you have Trump. Then, you have Joe Biden. Then, you have Pence, and who knows what former president is next.”
A GUIDE TO REPUBLICAN INVESTIGATIONS INTO BIDEN’S CLASSIFIED DOCUMENTS SCANDAL
The discovery of intelligence materials and secret files from the Obama administration in Biden’s possession became public earlier this month, leading Attorney General Merrick Garland to appoint a special counsel to investigate the president’s possible mishandling of information. The news raised questions over whether Biden’s attorneys or federal authorities sought to shield the president with the timing of the disclosure, which occurred months after the files were discovered in the lead-up to the midterm elections.
House Republicans are also probing the handling and oversight of Biden’s case.
The president’s attorneys have continued to surface new documents in recent weeks. Just days ago, Biden’s counsel said it had uncovered another batch of files, bringing the total to an estimated 25 to 30 documents.
Bannon said Pence’s findings could help Biden, even as the president said last week he had “no regrets” about his handling of classified information.
“It doesn’t get Joe Biden off the hook, but it does quiet the controversy,” Bannon said.
On Capitol Hill, Republicans responded to the news that Pence also held documents at home by calling for an assessment of the case.
Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer (R-KY) said he had spoken with Pence, who had “agreed to fully cooperate with congressional oversight” in the matter.
But there may be broader political implications for Biden and Democrats, and even Pence, a potential 2024 presidential hopeful.
“I think the real winner is Donald Trump,” Bannon said. “It took the heat off Trump when they found documents with Biden, and it took even more heat off the both of them when they found documents at Pence’s house.”
The first reports of Biden’s documents quickly ignited comparisons to Trump, with Comer questioning the Justice Department’s “inconsistent treatment” of the cases. Other committees have raised questions about the national security implications of holding government secrets in unsecured locations over several years.
The White House has attempted to limit the political damage by tightly controlling information around the case while referring questions about the president’s compliance to investigators.
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Other former presidents have said they properly turned over classified materials after leaving office.
Representatives for former Presidents George H. W. Bush, Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, and Barack Obama told CNN that they turned over any classified materials to the National Archives and are not conducting further searches.
