OAN Geraldyn Berry
UPDATED 11:37 AM PT – Tuesday, January 24, 2023
Officials have confirmed that classified documents have been found in former Vice President Mike Pence’s Indiana home on Tuesday. The documents’ subject matter, degree of sensitivity, or classification is not yet known.
It is reported that Pence hired an outside agency to conduct a search inside of his own home, “out of an abundance of caution” following the news that classified documents were found at President Joe Biden’s home and office.
According to sources, the documents were found by Pence’s lawyer, Gregory Jacob, in the Republican’s Carmel, Indiana home. The National Archives were informed of the discovery by Pence’s staff.
In a letter submitted on Sunday to the National Archives, Jacob claimed that the Justice Department had dispatched FBI agents to Pence’s house on Thursday evening to retrieve the records that were being kept in a safe while he was in Washington, D.C. for the March for Life. Lawyers also told the Archives that the former vice president did not have any knowledge of the said documents.
“Vice President Pence was unaware of the existence of sensitive or classified documents at his personal residence,” Jacob wrote. “Vice President Pence understands the high importance of protecting sensitive and classified information and stands ready and willing to cooperate fully with the National Archives and any appropriate inquiry.”
The office of Pence’s advocacy group in Washington, D.C., was also examined, according to Pence’s attorney. However, no records covered by the Presidential Records Act or sensitive material were found there.
The discovery of classified documents in Pence’s residence is the third incident in which a president or vice president has possessed classified material after leaving office.
Pence has stated on numerous occasions that he did not take any classified documents from the White House or hold any confidential documents.
“Well, there’d be no reason to have classified documents, particularly if they were in an unprotected area,” Pence had said in an interview with ABC. “But I will tell you that I believe there had to be many better ways to resolve that issue than executing a search warrant at the personal residence of a former president of the United States.”
By: OAN
