FBI finds no classified documents at Biden’s vacation home

The FBI completed a search of US President Joe Biden’s home in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, and no documents with classified marks were found, Biden’s personal attorney said Wednesday.

Bob Bauer, Biden’s attorney, said the FBI took handwritten notes and some materials with it for further analysis. The search lasted three and a half hours.

“The DOJ’s planned search of the President’s Rehoboth residences, conducted in coordination and cooperation with the President’s attorneys, has been completed,” said Bauer. “The search was carried out from 8:30 am to noon.”

“No documents with classified marks were found,” he said.

Bauer said that, as with last month’s search of Biden’s home in Wilmington, Delaware, agents “took for further analysis some materials and handwritten notes that appear to relate to his time as vice president.”

Bauer confirmed early in the morning that investigators were searching the house. The search was planned and had Biden’s “full support and cooperation,” Bauer said.

“In accordance with standard DOJ procedures, in the interest of safety and operational integrity, he sought to do this work without prior public notice and we agreed to cooperate,” Bauer said. “Today’s search is another step in a complete and timely DOJ process that we will continue to fully support and facilitate. We’ll have more information at the conclusion of today’s quest.”

Reporters stationed in the coastal community observed black SUVs and sedans pulling up to the house mid-morning.

Biden’s personal lawyers already searched Rehoboth’s home on January 11 and did not find any confidential documents.

The FBI search of Rehoboth marks the third known instance that federal agents have searched properties associated with Biden for classified material.

The FBI had already searched Biden’s home in Wilmington, Delaware, discovering what his lawyer described as several items containing classified material. That search took place on January 20. Biden’s lawyers had already found documents in the Wilmington home and suspended the search in a specific space where additional documents were found. It’s unclear whether the documents the FBI found were in that same space or elsewhere in the house.

The FBI also searched the Washington office of the Penn Biden Center in mid-November after Biden lawyers first discovered classified material in a locked cabinet at the think tank.

None of the searches, including Wednesday’s in Rehoboth, required a warrant, according to people familiar with the matter. Biden’s team stressed that he is cooperating with the Justice Department as its investigation into the documents continues.

Biden bought his home in Rehoboth after leaving the vice presidency. He and his wife occasionally spend weekends there, most recently January 20-23.

The search comes on the day the Justice Department announced that Special Counsel Robert Hur has officially begun his job overseeing the investigation into Biden’s handling of classified documents. Hur takes over from US Attorney John Lausch, who conducted an initial review that has since grown into a full criminal investigation.

Hur, who previously served as the U.S. Attorney for Maryland, was appointed to that position by then-President Donald Trump in 2017. He held the position until his resignation in 2021. In office, Hur played a pivotal role in several key positions. – profile cases, including a children’s book scandal involving then-Baltimore Mayor Catherine Pugh, which resulted in Pugh being sentenced to three years in prison.

He was unanimously confirmed by the Senate for the position of U.S. Attorney in 2018, and at the time, he drew praise from both of Maryland’s Democratic Senators, who expressed confidence in his ability to handle critical issues facing the state.

Prior to his time with the DOJ, Hur was a law clerk to Chief Justice William Rehnquist and also a clerk to a federal appellate judge, Alex Kozinski.

This story has been updated with additional reports.