The Department of Justice has launched a preliminary review into classified documents found at the University of Pennsylvania’s Penn Biden Center in Washington, D.C., sources told ABC News.
In a statement, an attorney for President Joe Biden said his team first flagged the materials to both DOJ and the National Archives and Record Administration.
“The White House is cooperating with the National Archives and the Department of Justice regarding the discovery of what appear to be Obama-Biden Administration records, including a small number of documents with classified markings,” Richard Sauber, a special counsel to Biden, said in a statement.
Sauber said the documents were found on Nov. 2 and the National Archives was notified by the White House on the same day, then took possession of them on Nov. 3.
The documents were found by Biden’s personal attorneys while they were “packing files housed in a locked closet to prepare to vacate office space” at the Penn Biden Center, said Sauber, who noted “the documents were not the subject of any previous request or inquiry by the Archives.”
“Since that discovery, the President’s personal attorneys have cooperated with the Archives and the Department of Justice in a process to ensure that any Obama-Biden Administration records are appropriately in the possession of the Archives,” Sauber said.
The president helped launch the Penn Biden Center after leaving office as vice president under Barack Obama.
Biden “periodically used this space from mid-2017 until the start of the 2020 campaign,” Sauber said.
The center operates independently from the administration, according to its website.
Sources said the matter seems to involve only a handful of documents.
Attorney General Merrick Garland has assigned U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois John Lausch with leading the review into how the documents ended up at the Penn Biden Center, a source familiar confirmed.
Lausch’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The FBI referred comment to DOJ, who declined to comment.
CBS News first reported the review.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.