On January 20, 2023, a consensual search was conducted by the FBI in the White House. President Biden agreed to let the FBI search, after news about hidden classified documents surfaced from November. Biden was confident that the search would be through, but quick, and nothing would be found. However, twelve hours later, a fourth batch of classified documents were found hidden throughout the White House, leaving many to ponder what was in the documents, and why Biden felt the need to hide them. 

Back in November, the inspector general of the National Archives contacted the Justice Department to report that classified documents were found at Biden’s former Washington D.C. office. The FBI began an assessment to see if the classified information was mishandled and how to continue with the situation. It was decided that Chicago US attorney, John Lausch Jr., was to conduct an initial investigation, starting at Biden’s office. Later in December, Biden’s personal counsel informed Lausch that more classified documents were found in Biden’s garage in his Wilmington’s home. The investigation carried over to January, where the White House revealed that a third batch of documents were found in a locked closet in Biden’s office. 

Attorney General Merrick Garland, who was overseeing the investigations, appointed special counsel, Robert Hur, to investigate Biden’s classified documents. Hur is a former US attorney in Maryland, who returned to aid the government from his private practice in Washington. Hur was known for his strategic actions and was notable for his work in prosecuting people, such as white supremacists, those affiliated with hate crimes, frauds, and gangs. Garland was confident in Hur’s abilities to carry out and conduct the investigations, in a fair and speedy manner. 

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy wanted lawmakers to further investigate the documents and the findings. McCarthy believed that since Biden’s lawyers made the discovery, Biden must have known about the documents. However, Biden admits to having been surprised by the whole affair and does not claim to be affiliated with the documents. Biden praises his lawyers for doing the right thing and turning the documents over to the National Archives. Throughout the whole process, the president has been very cooperative with the searches and accusations, “We’re fully cooperating and looking forward to getting this resolved quickly,” Biden said. “I think you’re going to find there’s nothing there.” True to his word, Biden has been extremely supportive in his efforts, and even was compared to Trump when the same scandal occurred during his time in office. Similarly, former president Trump had been in possession of classified documents to whichBiden turned over, yet Trump refused to let the FBI conduct an investigation. Eventually, the FBI had to force their way into obtaining the documents. 

After the thorough search on January 20, there were several things to report: in total, there were four different batches of classified documents found in Biden’s possession, Biden claims to not know about any of information, but later suggests that he had “no regrets for not turning over” the first batch, and the investigation is still ongoing. The documents found were not during Biden’s presidency, but were dated during his time as vice-president, and his time in the Senate. The questions that remain are what will be done with the documents, what information was kept classified, and why Biden kept them in his possession for so many years.