Secret documents were found in the home of former Vice President Mike Pence

It appears to be a small number of classified documents that were inadvertently packaged and taken to the former vice president’s personal home at the end of the previous administration.Mr. Pence’s attorney, Greg Jacob, made that clear in a letter he sent to the National Archives last week.

He pointed out that Mr. Pence was not aware of the existence of sensitive or classified documents at his personal residenceit’s a Realizes the great importance of protecting sensitive and classified information and that is stands ready and willing to cooperate fully with the National Archives and with any investigation that may be necessary.

According to CNN, the ultra-conservative, who is toying with the idea of ​​running for president in 2024, was in possession of dozens of classified documents at his home in Indiana.

In the United States, a 1978 law requires US presidents and vice presidents to send all emails, letters, and other business documents to the National Archives. Another law, on espionage, prohibited keeping documents classified as secret in unauthorized and unsecured locations.

Pence … after Trump and Biden

After leaks to the media, the White House admitted that such files, dating back to the era of Vice President Joe Biden, from 2009 to 2017, and also from his long career in the Senate, were discovered in one of its former offices in Washington and in his office. Family home in Wilmington (Delaware, East).

The case is embarrassing because Democrats did not hesitate to criticize Donald Trump, the target of a judicial investigation for keeping whole boxes of documents when he left Washington in 2021. To retrieve them, federal police ran out this summer. An amazing search for his residence in Mar-a-Lago, Florida.

Eager to silence suspicions of bias, the Justice Department on January 13 assigned investigations into Joe Biden’s files to an independent special prosecutor, as it did in November with Donald Trump. Asked by reporters during a news conference on another topic, Attorney General Merrick Garland declined to comment on the Mike Pence case on Tuesday.

A national security issue

Despite these precautions, Republicans continue to criticize dodgy White House communications. the Mike Pence’s transparency contrasts with the position of Joe Biden’s aides, who continue to withhold informationInfluential Republican Representative-elect to the House of Representatives James Comer confirmed in a press release.

At a press conference, Republican Senator Lindsey Graham called for this Make all the light In this case. What was a political problem For Republicans, then for Democrats, it is now, in his words, A national security issue for the country.

As for Donald Trump, he has divided a message of support for his former vice president, who has nonetheless been cold with him since the attack on the Capitol two years ago. Mike Pence is innocent, and he has never done anything dishonest in his life. Leave him aloneThe billionaire, who will run for re-election in 2024, wrote on his network Truth Social.

Last August, in an interview with the Associated Press, Pence said he did not take classified information with him when he left office.

When directly asked by reporters if he was keeping any classified information when he left office, he replied: No, not that I know.