Classified Information

Report: FBI Expected to Search Mike Pence’s Indiana Home for Classified Material

February 2, 2023 by Jacob Bliss Leave a Comment

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is expected to search the Indiana home of former Vice President Mike Pence in the coming days, according to people familiar with the plans, the Wall Street Journal reported.

The Justice Department is discussing a time to schedule the search with the former vice president’s legal team, the same people told the WSJ. The search comes after law enforcement agencies have recently increased scrutiny of how government officials handle classified material.

This also comes after Pence voluntarily provided classified documents to federal authorities that he discovered at his Indiana home last month. As the WSJ noted, Pence’s lawyers said the discovered documents were “inadvertently packed up and transported and Mr. Pence was unaware of their existence.”

This statement ropes him into the same scandal simmering around President Joe Biden after multiple reports showed that between 2o-25 documents were found in Biden’s vice-presidential office at the Penn Biden Center for Diplomacy and Global Engagement in Washington, D.C., and other places such as his home in Delaware. Since the discovery of the documents, federal authorities searched Biden’s two homes in Delaware in recent weeks.

The document disclosures from Pence and Biden came as former President Donald Trump’s Florida home, Mar-A-Lago, was raided by FBI agents last summer. The FBI searched his residence for classified material that the former president could have removed from the White House when he moved out. The search reportedly included agents going through Melania Trump’s bedroom and closets. Following the raid, some of the seized materials the FBI took included over 50 empty folders.

A person close to Pence indicated to the WSJ that the search by the former vice president’s legal team was “exhaustive,” and they do not believe there are any more classified documents at his home.

Additionally, Breitbart News Washington Bureau Chief Matthew Boyle exclusively reported on Thursday that a CNN camera crew was pictured on the street outside Pence’s advocacy group headquarters in downtown Washington, DC.

Boyle noted that the pictures obtained by Breitbart News “suggest the camera crew was possibly awaiting action from the Department of Justice (DOJ) or FBI in the ongoing classified document scandals plaguing Pence, former President Donald Trump, and current President Joe Biden.”

Jacob Bliss is a reporter for Breitbart News. Write to him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter @JacobMBliss.

Poll: Nearly Half of Americans Consider Biden’s Handling of Classified Documents a ‘Major Scandal’

February 2, 2023 by Hannah Bleau Leave a Comment

Nearly half of Americans consider President Biden’s handling of classified documents a “major scandal,” a Rasmussen Reports survey released this week found.

The survey noted that a special counsel is investigating how classified documents — from Biden’s time as vice president during the Obama administration — ended up in multiple locations, including his Delaware home. When asked if it is a major scandal, minor scandal, or no scandal at all, nearly half, 48 percent, agreed it is a “major scandal.”

Nearly a quarter, 24 percent, consider it a “minor” scandal, and another 24 percent consider it “no” scandal at all. Four percent remain unsure.

Nearly three-quarters of Republicans, 73 percent, consider it a “major scandal,” as do 50 percent of independents and 23 percent of Democrats. A plurality of Democrats, 40 percent, do not believe it is scandal at all.

Ian Sams, with the White House counsel’s office, speaks to reporters outside of the West Wing of the White House in Washington, Wednesday, Feb. 1, 2023. The FBI has searched President Joe Biden’s Rehoboth Beach, Del., home as part of its investigation into the potential mishandling of classified documents. Biden’s attorney says that agents didn’t find any classified documents during the Wednesday search, but did take some handwritten notes and other materials relating to Biden’s time as vice president for review. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)

The survey also asked, “How likely is it that information from classified documents was used by Biden’s son, Hunter Biden, in his foreign business deals?”

Most believe it is at least somewhat likely, and of those, 44 percent believe it is “very” likely. Most, 59 percent, also at least somewhat agree that the Biden family has been “influence-peddling for a decade.”

The survey was taken January 26-29, 2023, among 900 likely U.S. voters and has a +/- 3 percent margin of error.

A recent survey from The Economist/YouGov found that more than three-quarters of Americans support a Department of Justice investigation into Biden over the classified documents found in multiple locations. Further, a CNN poll released last week found that 80 percent of Democrats, specifically, also support the DOJ’s appointment of a special counsel to investigate. Attorney General Merrick Garland made that announcement on January 12.

“I concluded that under the special counsel regulations, it was in the public interest to appoint a special counsel,” Garland said at the time, announcing that former U.S. attorney from Maryland Robert Hur will investigate.

Geraldo Rivera: Biden Classified Docs ‘Phony Scandal’– Zero Evidence National Security Compromised

February 1, 2023 by Pam Key Leave a Comment

Wednesday on “The Five,” Fox News host Geraldo Rivera called President Joe Biden’s mishandling of classified material found in his home and office a “phony scandal.”

Co-host Greg Gutfeld said, “Connect the dots. This is an incredibly timely scandal when he decides to run for reelection. Which member of the deep state and setting them up? The same people that went after Trump or Nixon?”

Rivera said, “Maybe, maybe it was them. This is the incredible shrinking scandal. As I’ve said, there is absolutely no there there. We have been talking about this around and around and around, and now Vice President Pence, of course, famously is involved in the so-called scandal. This is totally political retribution.”

Gutfeld said, “But from whom? But from whom?”

Rivera said, “Republicans.”

Gutfeld said, “Really, how did the Republicans know the stuff?”

Rivera said, “Why is it, Greg, we are talking about a document scandal with zero evidence and national security has been compromised, and we are not talking about the Paycheck Protection Program and the billions of dollars that were wasted, squatted, stolen?”

He added, “Why don’t we go after something American people care about? This is the librarian scolding the people who kept the books overdue. It is nothing to do with anything in American life. Not one family watching this today is affected one iota by the phony scandal.”

Follow Pam Key on Twitter @pamkeyNEN

Pence: ‘Mistakes Were Made’ Handling Classified Records — ‘I Take Full Responsibility’

January 27, 2023 by Pam Key Leave a Comment

Former Vice President Mike Pence said Friday on Fox News Channel’s “America Reports” that he takes “full responsibility” for the classified documents found at his Indiana home.

Correspondent Rich Edson said, “Do you think there have been special counsels appointed by the Department of Justice in two other cases? Do you think there should be one in your case as well?”

Pence said, “I would leave that decision to the attorney general and the Department of Justice. Again, this was an unfortunate development, and I think it’s important that our office simply cooperate fully in any investigation by either the Department of Justice, the Archives, or the Congress of the United States, and we are determined to do that.”

He added, “I remain very confident that during my time in the Congress of the United States, we were very careful and very cautious, and as we were during my time as vice president. But again, during the closing days of administration, when materials were boxed and assembled, some of which were shipped to our personal residence, mistakes were made. We were not aware of it at the time until we did the review just a few short weeks ago, but I take full responsibility for it, and we are going to continue to support every appropriate inquiry into it.”

Follow Pam Key on Twitter @pamkeyNEN

Manchin: Biden, Pence, Trump Should ‘Have Regrets’ on Classified Docs

January 27, 2023 by Pam Key Leave a Comment

Senator Joe Manchin (D-WV) said Friday on “CNN This Morning” that President Joe Biden, former Vice President Mike Pence and former President Donald Trump should all have regrets about having classified information in their homes and offices.

Manchin said, “Sure, you should have regrets on that, you know, however, it happened. I don’t think anything was intentional. And now we’re finding out whoever had access, the top eight in our government that, get classified information a little differently than the rest of us. We usually go down in a SCIF. And all of the senators and congresspeople have to go into that SCIF. And there is no way in the world that we’re able to take that out of that SCIF, which is a secured area.”

He added, “Now, president, vice president, and those are having it delivered to them, whether it be at the White House or their office. I just think there has to be better checks and balances on this. But now we find that Vice President Pence, both of our presidents, former President Trump and now our president, everybody should have regrets because it can get into the wrong hands. And classified documents are truly classified. Top-secret is absolutely top-secret and something that could harm the defense of our country and basically the people who were able to get the information that we need to make sure that we’re defending our country properly.”

Follow Pam Key on Twitter @pamkeyNEN