司法部进行搜索1月20日星期五，美国总统乔·拜登在特拉华州威尔明顿的家中发现了更多拜登卸任后的机密文件对此事罕见的公开评论.
“我在遵循律师告诉我的他们希望我做的事情。这正是我们正在做的。那里没有‘那里’，”他告诉记者。
以下是重大进展的最新时间表:
11月4日:美国国家档案馆总检察长联系司法部称，白宫通知国家档案馆，在拜登2017年卸任副总统后使用的华盛顿特区智库佩恩·拜登中心(Penn Biden Center)发现了带有分类标记的文件。据拜登的律师称，这些机密材料来自他担任副总统期间，于11月2日被发现。
11月9日:美国联邦调查局开始评估机密信息是否被不当处理。
11月14日:加兰指派美国检察官约翰·劳施就是否任命特别律师进行初步调查。
十一月字体据三位知情人士透露，在拜登的律师报告在其前办公室发现这些机密文件后，美国联邦调查局搜查了佩恩·拜登中心。目前尚不清楚美国联邦调查局在搜查过程中是否发现了任何其他文件，搜查是在拜登律师的配合下进行的。
12月20日:拜登的个人律师告知劳施，在拜登特拉华州威尔明顿家中的车库中发现了带有分类标记的其他文件。加兰说，美国联邦调查局去了那个地方并保护了那些文件。
1月5日:美国检察官劳施建议加兰德由一名特别律师进行进一步调查。此后的日子里，劳施继续调查，DOJ任命罗伯特·胡尔为特别顾问。
1月9日:报道称，加兰德指派劳施审查在佩恩·拜登中心发现的机密文件。白宫证实，总统的律师在该中心一个上锁的壁橱里发现了“少量带有机密标记的文件”。
1月10日:拜登说他感到“惊讶”得知佩恩·拜登中心有任何政府记录，他补充说:“我不知道文件里有什么。”
1月12日:总统的私人律师打电话给劳施，称在威尔明顿的总统官邸发现了另一份带有机密标记的文件。
1月12日:拜登的律师在一份声明中报告说，在拜登位于威尔明顿的家中发现了“少量”带有机密标记的额外记录。他的律师继续称这些文件可以追溯到拜登担任副总统期间。
1月12日:加兰德签署了一项命令，任命胡尔为特别顾问，并向公众通报了这一决定。白宫法律顾问办公室发言人伊恩·萨姆斯告诉美国广播公司新闻，白宫没有事先得到加兰任命特别法律顾问的通知。
加兰说:“根据规定，这里的特殊情况要求为此事任命一名特别律师。”
同一天，拜登表示，他正在与司法部当局全面合作。
拜登说:“作为这一过程的一部分，我的律师审查了我担任副总统期间存储文件的其他地方，他们昨晚完成了审查。”“他们在我家和我的个人图书馆的存储区和文件柜中发现了少量带有机密标记的文件。”
1月14日:拜登的特别顾问理查德·索伯证实，当他与司法部合作移交几天前在威尔明顿家中发现的一份一页机密文件时，发现了“另外五页”的机密信息。这些页面后来被识别出来，因为看到最初机密文件的私人律师没有安全许可，根据拜登的私人律师鲍勃·鲍尔在一份声明中概述的程序，“暂停了对发现文件的那个盒子、文件或其他特定空间的任何进一步搜索。”
1月17日:美国国家档案馆表示，在将记录移交给众议院监督委员会之前，司法部需要与新任命的特别顾问进行磋商，“评估是否可以在不干涉对在佩恩·拜登中心和拜登总统威尔明顿住所发现的机密文件的调查的情况下”发布信息。
1月19日:自一名特别顾问被任命进行调查以来，拜登首次在加州有关天气事件的讲话结束时公开评论文件情况。“你知道吗，坦率地说，让我困扰的是我们现在谈论的问题很严重。我们正在谈论正在发生的事情，美国人民不太明白你为什么不问我有关这方面的问题，”他告诉记者。“不过话虽如此，你的问题是什么?”
在被问及为何不在11月中期选举前披露这些文件时，拜登回答说，“我们发现了一些文件”被“归档错了地方”，他正在与国家档案馆和DOJ合作。
“我想你会发现那里什么都没有，”他说。
1月20日:司法部搜查了拜登在威尔明顿的家并获得了更多包含机密信息的物品，白宫法律顾问理查德·索伯和拜登的私人律师鲍勃·鲍尔在搜查后的第二天，即1月21日周六表示。
据拜登的律师称，除了拜登担任副总统期间，DOJ还拥有六件带有分类标记的文件，其中一些是他在参议院任职期间的文件。他们还记录了他担任副总统期间的手写笔记。
据鲍尔说，索伯说，总统和第一夫人吉尔·拜登在持续约12小时的搜查中没有在场。伊利诺伊州美国检察官办公室周六证实，搜查是双方自愿的。
美国广播公司新闻频道(ABC News)获得的一封信显示，1月20日，司法部通知众议院司法委员会，不太可能与调查人员分享正在进行的刑事调查信息或任何有关DOJ调查的非公开信息。
1月23日:众议院监督委员会主席要求美国特勤局提供与拜登威尔明顿住所访客有关的信息，因为国会小组正在调查拜登卸任后对机密文件的处理。众议员詹姆斯·科莫在给特勤局局长金伯利·谢特尔的一封信中，要求该局提供从2017年1月20日到现在与拜登住所访客信息有关的所有文件和通信。
“根据特勤局人员的说法，特勤局‘确实为可能接触特勤局保护网站的各种个人生成了执法和刑事司法信息记录，’”科莫·R-Ky。，写道。他要求在2月6日之前交出所有相关文件。
特勤局发言人安东尼·古格列尔米在一份声明中表示，特勤局正在审查这封监督信。
1月23日:在给科莫的一封信中，白宫法律顾问斯图尔特·德勒里明确表示，他们不会很快交出所需的文件——因为他说他们没有这些文件。“请注意，白宫并不拥有国家档案馆和DOJ在此过程中获得的文件，”德勒里写道。监督委员会寻求的材料包括拜登团队发现的所有机密材料;档案馆和DOJ之间的文件和通信;还有更多。德勒里在信中反复强调，白宫希望与该委员会合作，同时也尊重正在进行的调查的完整性。他补充说，白宫计划就他们的请求与委员会“真诚”合作，白宫工作人员将与委员会工作人员联系，“安排时间讨论此事。”
1月23日:最后，在与记者的简报中，白宫法律顾问办公室发言人伊恩·萨姆斯不愿透露拜登是否对在威尔明顿家中发现的额外文件感到“惊讶”-此前拜登表示他对旧办公室的材料感到“惊讶”。萨姆斯说，1月20日，是拜登的律师就威尔明顿的自愿搜查首次联系DOJ。Sams也不排除未来对拜登在特拉华州雷霍博斯海滩的度假屋进行搜查的可能性。他拒绝详细说明1月20日发现的六件带有分类标记的物品。
2月1日。据拜登的私人律师鲍勃·鲍尔称，美国联邦调查局对拜登在特拉华州雷霍博斯海滩的住所进行了“有计划的搜查”。“根据DOJ的标准程序，为了行动的安全和完整性，它寻求在没有事先公开通知的情况下进行这项工作，我们同意合作。鲍尔在一份声明中说:“今天的搜索是彻底和及时的DOJ进程中的又一步，我们将继续全力支持和促进。”
9月23日美国广播公司新闻报告调查人员采访了多达100名证人，包括国务卿安东尼·布林肯。调查始于对拜登住所的搜查，最终发展成对奥巴马时期安全协议和白宫内部流程的广泛审查。
出席部分采访的消息人士(包括证人)告诉美国广播公司新闻频道(ABC News)，当局显然发现了拜登担任副总统期间粗心大意的情况，但根据采访中的说法，在他们看来，拜登2017年离开白宫时从办公室不当取走机密文件更可能是一个错误，而不是犯罪行为。
10月8日& 9:白宫揭示在两天的时间里，拜登总统参加了特别顾问罗伯特·胡尔(Robert Hur)的“自愿采访”，这表明调查人员即将得出结论。
白宫发言人伊恩·萨姆斯(Ian Sams)当时在一份声明中说:“正如我们从一开始就说过的那样，总统和白宫正在配合这项调查，并且在适当的情况下，我们公开提供了相关的最新情况，尽可能保持透明，以保护和维护调查的完整性。”
2024年2月5日:根据司法部长梅里克·加兰写给国会议员的一封信，罗伯特·胡尔向司法部提交了他的报告，这标志着他的调查正式结束。
2月7日:司法部长梅里克·加兰告知立法者Hur的报告被转交到白宫法律顾问办公室，供总统和他的法律团队审查其潜在行政特权的调查结果。
2月8日:白宫说它不会寻求审查特别顾问罗伯特·胡尔(Robert Hur)在一份报告中收集的任何信息，该报告记录了他对乔·拜登(Joe Biden)总统处理机密记录的调查。
白宫法律顾问办公室发言人伊恩·萨姆斯(Ian Sams)周四在一份声明中表示，总统的法律团队已经完成了对报告的审查，“为了遵守他对合作和透明度的承诺”，总统不会主张任何行政特权。
白宫审查的完成为司法部向国会和公众发布报告铺平了道路。
Key events in the Biden classified documents probe: Updated timeline
The Department of Justiceconducted a searchof President Joe Biden's home in Wilmington, Delaware, on Friday, Jan. 20, finding more classified documents from Biden's time out of office just one day after he maderare public comments on the matter.
"I'm following what the lawyers have told me they want me to do. It's exactly what we're doing. There's no 'there' there," he told reporters.
Here is an updated timeline of significant developments:
Nov. 4:The National Archives inspector general contacted the Justice Department to say the White House notified the National Archives that documents bearing classification markings were identified at Penn Biden Center, the think tank in Washington, D.C., that Biden used after leaving office as vice president in 2017. According to Biden's attorneys, the classified materials were from his vice presidency and were found on Nov. 2.
Nov 9:FBI commenced an assessment to understand whether classified information had been mishandled.
Nov. 14:Garland assigned U.S. Attorney John Lausch to conduct an initial investigation on whether to appoint a special counsel.
November: The FBI searched the Penn Biden Center after Biden's lawyers reported finding the classified documents at his former office, according to three sources familiar with the situation. It is unclear if the FBI found any additional documents during the search, which was done in coordination with Biden's lawyers.
Dec. 20:Biden's personal counsel informed Lausch that additional documents bearing classification markings were identified in the garage of Biden's Wilmington, Delaware, home. The FBI went to the location and secured those documents, Garland said.
Jan. 5:U.S. Attorney Lausch advised Garland that further investigation by a special counsel was warranted. In the days since, Lausch continued the investigation and the DOJ identified Robert Hur for appointment as special counsel.
US Attorney General Merrick Garland names an independent special counsel to probe President Joe Bi...Show moreundefined
Olivier Douliery/AFP via Getty Images
Jan. 9:Reporting broke that Garland assigned Lausch to review classified documents found at the Penn Biden Center. The White House confirmed that the president's attorneys found a "small number of documents with classified markings" in a locked closet at the center.
Jan. 10:Biden said he was "surprised"to learn that there were any government records at the Penn Biden Center, adding, "I don't know what's in the documents."
Jan. 12:The president's personal counsel called Lausch and stated that an additional document bearing classification markings was identified at the president's residence in Wilmington.
Jan. 12:In a statement, Biden's lawyers reported "a small number" of additional records with classified markings were found at Biden's Wilmington home. His lawyers continue to describe these documents as dating to Biden's vice presidency.
Jan. 12:Garland signed an order appointing Hur as special counsel and briefed the public on this decision. A spokesman for the White House counsel's office, Ian Sams, told ABC News that the White House did not get advance notice Garland was appointing a special counsel.
"Under the regulations, the extraordinary circumstances here require a special counsel appointment for this matter," Garland said.
On the same day, Biden said he was cooperating fully with Justice Department authorities.
"As part of that process, my lawyers reviewed other places where documents in my -- from my time as vice president were stored and they finished the review last night," Biden said. "They discovered a small number of documents with classified markings in storage areas and file cabinets in my home and my personal library."
Jan. 14:A special counsel for Biden, Richard Sauber, confirmed that "five additional pages" of classified information were found when he was working with the Department of Justice to hand over a one-page classified document found days earlier at the Wilmington home. The pages were identified later on because the personal lawyers who came across the initial classified document did not have a security clearance and, according to procedures outlined by Biden's personal attorney Bob Bauer in a statement, "suspended any further search in that box, file or other specific space where the document was found."
Jan. 17:The National Archives said before they turn over records to the House Oversight Committee, the Department of Justice needed to consult with the newly appointed special counsel "to assess whether information can be released without interfering" in the investigation" into classified documents discovered at the Penn Biden Center and at President Biden's Wilmington home.
Jan. 19:For the first time since a special counsel was named to investigate, Biden commented publicly on the documents situation at the end of remarks in California about weather events there. "You know what, quite frankly, bugs me is that we have serious problems here we're talking about. We're talking about what's going on and the American people don't quite understand why you don't ask me questions about that," he told reporters. "But having said that, what's your question?"
In response to a question about why he did not reveal the documents before November's midterm elections, Biden replied that "we found a handful of documents" that had been "filed in the wrong place" and he was cooperating with the National Archives and DOJ.
"I think you're going to find there's nothing there," he said.
Jan. 20:The Department of Justicesearched Biden's Wilmington homeand took possession of more items containing classified information, White House counsel Richard Sauber and Biden's personal attorney Bob Bauer said on Saturday, Jan. 21, the day after the search.
The DOJ took possession of six items consisting of documents with classification markings, some from his time in the Senate, in addition to his tenure as Vice President, according to Biden's lawyers. They also took handwritten notes from his years as vice president.
Sauber said that the president and first lady Jill Biden were not present during the search, which lasted roughly 12 hours, according to Bauer. The U.S. attorney's office in Illinois confirmed on Saturday that the search was consensual.
Also on Jan. 20, the Department of Justice informed the House Judiciary Committee that it was unlikely to share information with investigators about ongoing criminal probes or any non-public information about any DOJ investigation, according to a letter obtained by ABC News.
Jan. 23:The chair of the House Oversight Committee requested information from the U.S. Secret Service related to visitors at Biden's Wilmington home, as the congressional panel investigates Biden's handling of classified documents from his time out of office. In a letter to Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle, Rep. James Comer, requested all documents and communications from the agency related to visitor information at Biden's residence from Jan. 20, 2017, to the present.
"According to Secret Service personnel, the Secret Service 'does generate law enforcement and criminal justice information records for various individuals who may come into contact with Secret Service protected sites,'" Comer, R-Ky., wrote. He asked that any relevant documents be turned over by Feb. 6.
In a statement, Secret Service spokesperson Anthony Guglielmi said the agency was reviewing the oversight letter.
Jan. 23:In a letter sent to Comer, the White House counsel, Stuart Delery, made it clear they were not going to be handing over the requested documents anytime soon -- because he said they didn't have them. "Please note that the White House does not have possession of the documents that the National Archives and DOJ have taken possession of as part of this process," Delery wrote. Among the materials that the Oversight Committee sought were all of the classified materials that Biden's team found; documents and communications between them, the Archives and DOJ; and more. In his letter, Delery stressed repeatedly that the White House wanted to work with the committee while also respecting the integrity of the ongoing investigation. He added that the White House planned to work in "good faith" with the committee regarding their requests and that White House staff would reach out to committee staff to "arrange a time to discuss the matter."
Jan. 23:Finally, in a briefing with reporters, White House counsel's office spokesperson Ian Sams would not say if Biden was also "surprised" to learn of the additional documents found at his Wilmington home -- after Biden said he was "surprised" by the materials at his old office. Sams said it was Biden's lawyers who first reached out to DOJ about the voluntary search in Wilmington on Jan. 20. Sams also wouldn't rule out a future search of Biden's vacation home in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware. He declined to detail the six items with classification markings found on Jan. 20.
Feb. 1.The FBI conducted a "planned search" of Biden's home in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, according to Biden's personal lawyer Bob Bauer. "Under DOJ's standard procedures, in the interests of operational security and integrity, it sought to do this work without advance public notice, and we agreed to cooperate. The search today is a further step in a thorough and timely DOJ process we will continue to fully support and facilitate," Bauer said in a statement.
Sept. 23ABC Newsreportsthat investigators had interviewed as many as 100 witnesses, including Secretary of State Antony Blinken. The investigation began with a search of Biden's residences and ultimately grew into a sprawling examination of Obama-era security protocols and internal White House processes.
Sources present for some of the interviews, including witnesses, told ABC News that authorities had apparently uncovered instances of carelessness from Biden's vice presidency, but that -- based on what was said in the interviews -- it seemed to them that the improper removal of classified documents from Biden's office when he left the White House in 2017 was more likely a mistake than a criminal act.
Oct. 8& 9:The White Houserevealsthat President Biden took part in a "voluntary interview" with Special counsel Robert Hur over the course of two days, a sign that investigators were approaching their conclusion.
"As we have said from the beginning," White House spokesman Ian Sams said in a statement at the time, "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 be consistent with protecting and preserving the integrity of the investigation."
Feb. 5, 2024:Robert Hur submits his report to the Justice Department, according to a letter Attorney General Merrick Garland wrote to members of Congress, marking the formal conclusion of his investigation.
Feb. 7:Attorney General Merrick Garlandinforms lawmakersthat Hur's report was transmitted to the White House counsel's office for the president and his legal team to review its findings for potential executive privilege.
Feb. 8:The White Housesaidit would not seek to censor any information gathered by Special Counsel Robert Hur in a report chronicling his probe into President Joe Biden's handling of classified records.
Ian Sams, a spokesperson for the White House counsel's office, said in a statement on Thursday that the president's legal team had completed a review of the report and, "In keeping with his commitment to cooperation and transparency," the president would not assert any executive privilege.
The completion of the White House review paves the way for the Justice Department to release the report to Congress and the public.
