Key Points
- An independent investigation has been launched into allegations Joe Biden mishandled classified documents.
- A similar probe into Donald Trump began last year after thousands of files at his Florida home were seized by the FBI.
- Robert Hur, a private attorney and former government prosecutor, is in charge of the probe into Mr Biden's actions.
US Attorney General Merrick Garland named an independent special counsel Thursday to probe President Joe Biden's alleged mishandling of classified documents.
Mr Garland said Robert Hur, a private attorney and former government prosecutor, would examine whether the discovery of classified government documents in Mr Biden's home and in a research institute linked to the president violated any laws.
He said the "extraordinary circumstances" of the situation — investigating a sitting president — required him to take the extra step of naming an independent prosecutor to handle the probe.
How many documents have been found?
A first batch of documents, from Mr Biden's time as vice president, were found on 2 November at a Washington think tank where the 80-year-old had an office.
He told reporters in Mexico City on Tuesday he was "surprised" to learn of the original discovery, saying he did not know that any had been taken there.
Mr Biden said Thursday a second set of classified documents had been found at his private residence in Wilmington, Delaware.
He said the "small number" of documents with classified markings had been discovered in storage areas and his library, and that the Justice Department was notified immediately.
How does it compare to the Donald Trump?
The disclosure prompted comparisons to the criminal probe into former US president Donald Trump's hoarding of hundreds of classified materials at his South Florida beachfront home and his alleged obstruction of government efforts to get them back.
"People know I take classified documents and classified material seriously. We're cooperating fully (and) completely with the Justice Department's review," Mr Biden told reporters.
"As part of that process, my lawyers reviewed other places where documents from my time as vice president were stored, and they finished the review last night."
The first cache of documents in Mr Biden's possession was discovered a week before last year's midterm elections but only acknowledged by the White House on Monday, prompting accusations from Republicans of a cover-up and the unequal application of the law in the two cases.
"I think Congress has to investigate this," newly-installed House Speaker Kevin McCarthy told reporters at his first news conference.
"Here's an individual that's been in office for more than 40 years. Here's an individual that sat on 60 Minutes, that was so concerned about President Trump's documents, locked in behind, and now we find... a vice president keeping it for years out in the open in different locations."
Legal analysts have pointed to major differences between the cases however, particularly over the size of the huge hoard of documents Mr Trump had stored at his residence after leaving the White House in 2021.
The FBI carted away some 11,000 papers , and Mr Trump could face obstruction of justice charges after spending months resisting government efforts to recover his trove and his failure to comply with a subpoena demanding their return.
The White House, in contrast, says it has been "fully cooperating with the National Archives and the Department of Justice" since Mr Biden's discovery.
Lawyers for Mr Biden then scoured possible locations for any other stray documents.
Nevertheless, serious questions remain about when the second batch of documents was unearthed, who took both sets from the White House and if they have been accessed since Mr Biden left the vice-presidency in 2017.
