US Justice Secretary Merrick Garland on Thursday appointed a special prosecutor to investigate US President Joe Biden’s handling of classified documents.
He chose former Maryland District Attorney General Robert Hur to “investigate whether any person or entity violated the law in connection with this matter.”
“I will ensure that Mr. Hur receives all the resources he needs to carry out his task,” assured the minister when announcing the appointment.
Mr. Biden’s personal attorney on Thursday called Illinois Northern District Attorney John Lausch, who was in charge of preliminary investigations into that case, he said, saying an additional document marked “classified “had been discovered in the President’s personal residence in Wilmington, Delaware.
“I strongly believe that the normal processes of this department can handle all investigations with integrity,” Garland said. “But, under the rules, extraordinary circumstances here require the appointment of a special prosecutor for this case,” he added.
White House legal adviser Richard Sauber revealed earlier this week that “a small number of documents marked ‘classified'” had been discovered in one of Mr Biden’s former private offices in Washington.
The Department of Justice is also investigating former President Donald Trump’s handling of a set of classified documents seized from his property in Mar-a-Lago, Florida by federal agents during the summer of 2022.
A 1978 law, the Presidential Records Act, requires that all presidential and vice-presidential records be turned over to the National Archives.
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