Timeline: Biden’s retention of classified documents

A timeline of events related to the Biden documents case, based on both reporting about the documents and Garland's remarks on Thursday.

by Aaron Blake, Washington Post

Published Jan. 13, 2023, 8:46 a.m. ET

Attorney General Merrick Garland announced he has appointed a special counsel to examine the discovery of classified documents in unauthorized locations in President Biden’s former private office and his Wilmington, Del., home.

The situation carries some parallels to former president Donald Trump's retention of such documents, for which Garland has also appointed a special counsel. But the information released publicly so far also includes plenty of differences - both in the volume of the documents and in the apparent effort by Biden's legal team to quickly return the documents to government custody. Trump's resistance to returning the documents led to the court-approved FBI search of his residence at Mar-a-Lago in August and is central to the legal jeopardy he currently faces.

Below is a timeline of events related to the Biden documents case, based on both reporting about the documents and Garland's remarks on Thursday.

Nov. 2: The first batch of classified documents - about 10 of them - is found after one of Biden’s private attorneys opens a locked closet at the Penn Biden Center for Diplomacy and Global Engagement in Washington. The Penn Biden Center is a think tank affiliated with the University of Pennsylvania that Biden founded and whose offices he used after his time as vice president ended in early 2017. Garland describes it as a location “not authorized for storage of classified documents.”

The documents are immediately turned over to the National Archives, according to Richard Sauber, special counsel to President Biden. Sauber said the documents "were not the subject of any previous request or inquiry by" the National Archives and Records Administration - unlike the classified materials eventually found at Mar-a-Lago.

Nov. 4: The inspector general of the Archives, which maintains presidential records, contacts a prosecutor at the Justice Department to say the White House has disclosed finding classified documents at the Penn Biden Center, according to Garland.

Nov. 9: The FBI begins an assessment to determine whether any laws were broken, Garland said.

Nov. 14: Garland assigns U.S. Attorney John R. Lausch Jr. of Illinois, who had been nominated to the job by Trump in 2017, to conduct an initial investigation to help Garland determine whether a special prosecutor is warranted.

Dec. 20: Sauber informs Lausch that more documents marked as classified were found in Biden's garage at his residence in Wilmington, Del., according to Garland, and the FBI secures the documents.

Jan. 5: Lausch briefs Garland on the investigation and recommends the appointment of a special counsel. Garland agrees.

Days after Jan. 5: The Justice Department identifies Robert K. Hur as a potential special counsel, according to Garland. Hur is a former U.S. attorney in Maryland who was nominated to that job by Trump in 2018.

Jan. 9: CBS News reports on the November discovery of the documents, bringing the matter to light for the first time. The White House later confirms the Justice Department has launched an inquiry and says it is cooperating with both the department and the National Archives. While confirming the inquiry, the White House does not disclose the set of documents found on Dec. 20.

Jan. 12 (morning): Sauber releases a statement confirming the discovery of classified material in Wilmington, mostly in the garage but also one document in an adjacent room. He says the president's home in Rehoboth Beach, Del., also was searched and no documents were found.

Jan. 12 (afternoon): At a news briefing, Garland announces the appointment of Hur as special counsel. During his remarks, he says that Biden’s attorneys had disclosed to the Justice Department just that morning the discovery of one additional document marked classified found at the house in Wilmington.