President Joe Biden downplayed the significance of having classified documents in his possession, saying that the public will find out that “there’s nothing there.”
A reporter asked Biden on Thursday if he had any regrets keeping the discovery of the classified documents in his possession a secret before the midterms. The first trove of classified documents was found Nov. 2 by Biden’s lawyers at the Penn Biden Center, and more documents were discovered Dec. 20, Jan. 11 and Jan. 12 at his Delaware residence after an additional search.
Biden responded, “look, as we found a handful of documents that were filed in the wrong place, we immediately turned them over to the Archives and the Justice department. We are fully cooperating and looking forward to getting this resolved quickly. I think you’re going to find there’s nothing there.”
The public only learned of the documents after a CBS report was published Jan. 9, and the White House press office has said it knew nothing of the documents until the information was leaked to the press. The White House Counsel has refused to say when Biden first found out about the documents, and when he was planning to make a public statement. (RELATED: White House Counsel Refuses To Say When Biden First Knew About Classified Documents)
US President Joe Biden speaks as California Governor Gavin Newsom (L) and law enforcement officials look on after viewing at storm damage, and speaking to those affected in Seacliff, California, on January 19, 2023. (Photo by ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS / AFP) (Photo by ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS/AFP via Getty Images)
“I have no regrets in following what the lawyers have told me what they want me to do, it’s exactly what we’re doing. There’s no there there,” Biden added.
The president made the remarks as he was coming back from California after having surveyed the storm damage in the state. He had not spoken to the media about the documents for a week, and a reporter asked him if he would take questions on the topic.
“I’ll answer your question but here’s the deal. You know, what quite frankly bugs me is that we have a serious problem here we’re talking about, talking about what’s going on. And the American people don’t quite understand why you don’t ask me questions about that,” Biden responded.