President Joe Biden has been interviewed by a special counsel examining why he had classified materials at his home and one of his offices, his administration acknowledged on Monday.
Seeking to downplay the situation, his office continues to emphasize that it is cooperating with the inquiry. In a statement to CBS News, a spokesperson for the White House counsel’s office said that Biden was interviewed on a “voluntary” basis on Sunday and Monday.
“As we have said from the beginning, the President and the White House are cooperating with this investigation, and as it has been appropriate, we have provided relevant updates publicly, being as transparent as we can consistent with protecting and preserving the integrity of the investigation,” the spokesperson added.
In 2022, attorneys for Biden found a “small number” of classified materials in a “locked closet” at a think tank where he kept an office. Later, federal authorities found more classified documents after searching his home in Delaware.
Biden is attempting to contrast himself with former President Donald Trump, who is facing four separate indictments, including for allegedly keeping classified materials at his Florida resort, Mar-a-Lago. Trump had resisted efforts by the National Archives to retrieve the documents, which were found in large numbers of boxes on the property.
The former president has also been accused of having loose lips over national security issues. According to ABC News, after leaving office, he shared highly “sensitive information about U.S. nuclear submarines” with Australian billionaire Anthony Pratt, who is a member at Mar-a-Lago.
Pratt allegedly then passed the information on to “scores of others, including more than a dozen foreign officials, several of his own employees, and a handful of journalists,” anonymous sources cited by ABC News said.
Trump has denied wrongdoing.
