美国总统乔·拜登(Joe Biden)周二表示，他“惊讶地”得知，任何政府记录都被带到了一个前个人办公室，去年11月在那里发现了机密文件。
拜登在墨西哥举行的北美领导人峰会上首次回答了有关周一曝光的问题，他说:“人们知道我很重视机密信息。”
他为发现文件的处理方式进行了辩护，称他不知道文件的内容，并坚持要求他的律师立即将文件移交给国家档案馆的相关部门。
“当我的律师清理我在宾夕法尼亚大学的办公室时，他们在国会大厦为我设立了一个办公室，一个安全的办公室，在我担任副总统四年后，我成为了宾夕法尼亚大学的教授。他们在一个盒子里找到了一些文件，你知道，在一个锁着的柜子里，或者至少是一个壁橱里。当他们这么做的时候，他们意识到箱子里有几份机密文件，他们做了他们应该做的事情。
“他们立即打电话给档案馆，立即打电话给档案馆，把它们交给档案馆，我被告知这一发现，并惊讶地得知有任何政府记录被带到办公室，”他解释说。
“但我不知道文件里有什么。我——我的律师没有建议我问他们是什么文件。我把盒子翻了过来，他们把盒子交给了档案馆。我们正在全力配合调查，我希望调查能尽快结束，届时会有更多的细节。
一位知情人士告诉美国广播公司首席白宫记者塞西莉亚·维加，拜登在11月份的时候就知道了。
他没有回答记者关于公众是否会更早得到通知的问题。
在墨西哥城举行的北美领导人峰会上，Pres。拜登回答了记者关于发现机密文件的问题:“我们正在全力配合调查。”https://t.co/cTpgZHqklW pic.twitter.com/O32JL21hNb
— ABC新闻政治(@ABCPolitics)2023年1月10日
他的评论是在他的特别顾问确认机密文件被发现的一天后发表的。
周二上午在墨西哥城会见加拿大总理贾斯汀时，拜登无视记者们对这个问题的不同版本的努力，而是专注于他的峰会目标。
司法部目前正在调查此事，仔细检查11月初在华盛顿宾夕法尼亚大学佩恩·拜登中心发现的一系列文件。拜登在担任副总统后的几年里一直在那里工作。文件的存在是第一位的据报告的周一由哥伦比亚广播公司新闻报道，并由美国广播公司新闻证实。
几周来，联邦调查局和DOJ一直在进行初步调查，以确定这些文件是如何到达佩恩·拜登中心的，拜登是否参与了将它们转移到那里，或者他是否知道它们在任何时候都在那里。消息人士称，调查的目的是确定是否有任何重大犯罪发生，以及是否有必要任命一名特别律师。
消息人士称，拜登的私人律师发现了大约10份文件，包括一些标有“绝密”的文件，它们来自2013年至2016年期间。
两个消息来源证实，这些信息被移交给了国家档案馆，然后联系了DOJ，之后司法部长加兰要求前总统唐纳德·特朗普任命的美国司法部长约翰·劳施领导对此事的审查。
消息人士称初步调查“进展顺利”，劳施已经向加兰做了简报，但尚不清楚他的最终报告将于何时完成。
一些批评人士抱怨说，由于这些文件是在中期选举前几天才被发现的，这表明拜登政府应该披露这些文件。但熟悉此案的官员表示，虽然白宫可能认为发布信息是合适的，但DOJ通常会秘密开展此类调查。
两个消息来源称，这件事的处理方式正是DOJ处理特朗普Mar-a-Lago争议的方式，官员们指出，几个月后才发现大陪审团传唤特朗普，要求他提供仍在他手中的带有机密标记的文件，以及DOJ与特朗普律师通信的细节。
一名消息人士还告诉美国广播公司新闻，“拜登似乎没有亲自确认这些文件”，并要求将它们转移到私人办公室。
虽然拜登尚未对这一政治爆炸性事件发表评论，但他并不羞于批评前总统唐纳德·特朗普今年8月，联邦调查局搜查了特朗普在佛罗里达州棕榈滩Mar-A-Lago俱乐部的个人办公室。
“这怎么可能呢?怎么会有人这么不负责任?我想，里面有哪些数据可能会危及数据来源和方法?我指的是帮忙的人的名字等等。这完全是不负责任的，”拜登在一份声明中说9月接受哥伦比亚广播公司新闻节目《60分钟》采访。
8月，当被问及将机密文件带回家，远离白宫是否合适时，拜登告诉记者，“这取决于情况。”
“视情况而定。例如，我在家里有一个完全安全的封闭空间。我今天要带回家的是今天的PDB(总统每日简报)。锁上了，我有一个人和我在一起，军人和我在一起。当被问及把机密文件带回家是否合适时，拜登说:“我读了它，把它锁起来，然后交给军方。”。
当被问及没有专门的安全区域是否合适时，拜登再次表示，“这要视情况而定。”
拜登说:“这取决于文件，也取决于房间的安全程度。”。
根据拜登总统的特别顾问理查德·索伯(Richard Sauber)的声明，白宫正在就此事与国家档案馆和司法部充分合作。声明称，总统的私人律师发现这些文件后，立即将其移交审查，他们正在打包文件，以便腾出办公室。
更多:拜登的机密文件与特朗普的相比有什么关系?
前总统特朗普周一晚上在他的真实社交账户上对拜登文件的发现做出了反应。
“联邦调查局什么时候会搜查乔·拜登的许多住宅，甚至白宫?这些文件肯定没有解密，”特朗普声称。
周二在国会山，新授权的众议院共和党人迅速呼吁进行调查。众议院情报委员会(House Intelligence Committee)的共和党高层、俄亥俄州众议员迈克·特纳(Mike Turner)要求国家情报总监艾薇儿·海恩斯(Avril Haines)对这些文件的存储进行“立即审查和损害评估”。
周二众议院监督委员会的新主席通知白宫他的小组正在调查拜登对机密记录的处理很重要。
美国广播公司新闻(ABC News)获得了肯塔基州共和党众议员吉姆·卡莫(Jim Comer)给白宫法律顾问斯图尔特·德勒里(Stuart Delery)的一封信，信中要求白宫提供从拜登个人办公室取回的所有文件。
其他共和党人将拜登的文件与特朗普个人办公室发现的机密文件的持续法律斗争进行了比较。
“搜查前总统的住所是前所未有的，因为每一位总统，包括现任总统，都意外地做过的事情——我假设是意外地——打包了可能是机密的文件，”肯塔基州众议员詹姆斯·科莫(James Comer)告诉美国广播公司新闻。
“如果副总统拜登随身携带机密文件并持有多年，并在他拥有这些机密文件的同时批评前总统特朗普……我想知道为什么媒体没有问他同样的问题，”多数党党鞭史蒂夫·斯卡利斯说。
一些民主党人也表达了担忧。
众议院情报委员会前主席、加利福尼亚州众议员亚当·希夫(Adam Schiff)表示:“显然，如果机密文件出现在不该出现的地方，那将是一个问题，令人深感担忧。”。
Biden 'surprised' about discovery of classified documents and what he's said before
President Joe Biden on Tuesday said that he was "surprised" to learn that that any government records had been taken to a former personal office where classified documents were discovered in November.
For the first time answering questions on the revelation that surfaced Monday -- speaking at a North American Leaders' Summit in Mexico -- Biden said, "People know I take classified information seriously."
He defended how the discovery of the documents was handled, saying that he does not know the contents, and insisted his lawyers immediately turned the documents over to the appropriate authorities at the National Archives.
"When my lawyers were clearing out my office at the University of Pennsylvania, they set up an office for me, a secure office, in the Capitol, the four years after being vice president, I was a professor at Penn. They found some documents in a box, you know, in a locked cabinet, or at least a closet. And as soon as they did, they realized there were several classified documents in that box and they did what they should have done," he said.
"They immediately called the Archives, immediately called the Archives, turned them over to the Archives and I was briefed about this discovery and surprised to learn that there were any government records that were taken there to that office," he explained.
"But I don't know what's in the documents. I’ve – my lawyers have not suggested I ask what documents they were. I’ve turned over the boxes, they've turned over the boxes to the Archives. And we're cooperating fully, cooperating fully with the review, and which I hope will be finished soon and there will be more detail at that time," he said.
A source familiar with the matter told ABC News Chief White House Correspondent Cecilia Vega that Biden was made aware at the time in November.
He did not answer a reporter's question about whether the public have been notified sooner.
At North America Leaders' Summit in Mexico City, Pres. Biden fields reporter’s question on discovery of classified documents: “We’re cooperating fully with the review.” https://t.co/cTpgZHqklW pic.twitter.com/O32JL21hNb
— ABC News Politics (@ABCPolitics) January 10, 2023
His comments came a day after his special counsel confirmed the classified documents were discovered.
Meeting with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Tuesday morning in Mexico City, Biden ignored reporters' efforts to shout versions of that question, instead focusing on his goals for the summit.
The Justice Department is currently looking into the matter, scrutinizing the set of documents, which were discovered in early November at the University of Pennsylvania's Penn Biden Center in Washington. Biden worked there in the years following his vice presidency. The existence of the documents was first reported Monday by CBS News, and confirmed by ABC News.
The FBI and DOJ have been conducting a preliminary investigation for weeks to determine how the documents got to the Penn Biden Center, whether Biden was involved in transferring them there or whether he was aware they were there at any point. The goal of the investigation, sources say, is to determine whether there were any significant crimes committed and whether there's a need for a special counsel to be appointed.
Sources said there were approximately 10 documents discovered by Biden's personal attorneys including some that were marked "Top Secret" and they were from the timeframe between 2013 and 2016.
Two sources confirmed that the information was turned over to the National Archives which then reached out to DOJ, after which Attorney General Garland moved to task U.S. Attorney John Lausch -- an appointee of former President Donald Trump, with leading a review into the matter.
Sources describe the preliminary investigation as "well underway" and that Lausch has briefed Garland, but it's unclear when exactly his final report will be completed.
Some critics have complained that since the documents were discovered just days before the midterms, suggesting that the Biden administration should have disclosed it. But officials familiar with the case say while the White House could have seen fit to release information, the DOJ typically works in secret on such investigations.
Two sources say this is being handled precisely the way the Trump Mar-a-Lago controversy was handled by DOJ, the officials noting it was many months before it was revealed there was a grand jury subpoena of Trump for documents with classified markings still in his possession and the details of DOJ's communications with Trump attorneys came out.
One source also told ABC News "it doesn't appear that Biden personally identified the documents" and asked that they be moved to the private office.
While Biden has yet to comment on the politically explosive matter, he has not been shy to criticize former President Donald Trump's mishandling of classified information, after the FBI raided Trump's personal office at the Mar-A-Lago club in Palm Beach, Florida, in August.
"How that could possibly happen? How one -- anyone could be that irresponsible? And I thought, what data was in there that may compromise sources and methods? By that I mean names of people who helped or th-- et cetera. And it just -- totally irresponsible," Biden said in an interview on the CBS News program "60 Minutes" in September.
In August, when asked whether it is ever appropriate to take classified documents home, away from the White House, Biden told reporters, "it depends."
"Depending on the circumstance. For example, I have in my home a, a cabined-off space that is completely secure. I'm taking home with me today, today's PDB (President's Daily Brief). It's locked, I have a person with me, military with me. I read it, I lock it back up, and give it to the military," Biden said, when asked if it was ever appropriate to take home classified documents.
When pressed whether it would be appropriate to do without a specialized, secured area, Biden once again said, "it depends."
"Depends on the document and it depends on how secure the room," Biden said.
According to a statement from Richard Sauber, President Biden's special counsel, the White House is fully cooperating with the National Archives and the Department of Justice in this matter. The statement claims the documents were immediately handed over for review upon discovery by the president's personal attorneys, who were packing files in order to vacate the office.
MORE: How does the Biden classified documents matter compare to Trump's?
Former President Trump reacted to the discovery of the Biden documents Monday evening on his Truth Social account.
"When is the FBI going to raid the many homes of Joe Biden, perhaps even the White House? These documents were definitely not declassified," Trump claimed.
On Capitol Hill Tuesday, newly-empowered House Republicans were quick to call for investigation. Rep. Mike Turner of Ohio, the top Republicans on the House Intelligence Committee, asked Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines to carry out "an immediate review and damage assessment" pertaining to the storage of the documents.
The new chair of the House Oversight Committee on Tuesday notified the White House that his panel is investigating Biden's handling of the classified records matter.
In a letter to White House counsel Stuart Delery, obtained by ABC News, Republican Rep. Jim Comer of Kentucky asked the White House to provide all documents that were retrieved from Biden's personal office.
Other Republicans drew a comparison between the Biden documents, and the ongoing legal fight over the classified documents discovered at Trump's personal office.
"It's unprecedented to raid the residence of a former president for something that every president, including the current president, has done accidentally -- I'm gonna assume accidentally - pack documents that may be classified," Rep. James Comer of Kentucky, the GOP chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, told ABC News.
"If then Vice President Biden took classified documents with him and held them for years, and criticized former President Trump during the same time that he had those classified documents … I wonder why the press isn't asking the same questions of him," Majority Whip Steve Scalise said.
Some Democrats are also expressing concern.
"Obviously if there are classified documents anywhere they shouldn't be, that's a problem and a deep concern," said Rep. Adam Schiff of California, former chairman of the House Intelligence Committee.
