Biden tells PBS he's 'not at liberty' to discuss classified documents scandal, suggests his staff is to blame

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Biden sits for first TV interview since his classified documents scandal broke

President Biden was asked by PBS' Judy Woodruff about his classified documents scandal in his first interview since the controversy broke last month.

President Biden offered few details about his classified document scandal in his first interview since the controversy broke. 

Sitting down with PBS NewsHour's Judy Woodruff on Wednesday, Biden was asked about comments he made last year when he scolded former President Trump for being "totally irresponsible" for possessing classified documents at Mar-a-Lago. 

"So what was totally irresponsible about the fact that you had some?" Woodruff said.

"They've informed me not to speak to this issue to any way try to prejudice the investigation that's going on," Biden responded. "But what I was talking about what was laid out, all these documents were top secret, code word and all the rest."

"I'm not at liberty- and I'm not even sure. I made voluntarily- no one's had to threaten to do anything, voluntary- when every single aperture I have with house, offices, everything for them to come and look and spend hours searching my home, invited them," Biden continued. 

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President Biden sat down with PBS' Judy Woodruff and discussed his ongoing classified document scandal. (Screenshot/PBS NewsHour)

The president attempted to downplay the contents of what was in his possession, telling Woodruff "the best of my knowledge" they were items from "1974" and "stray papers," but added "there may be something else, I don't know."

Biden then went on to suggest that his staff is to blame for not finding the classified document when he first left office in 2017.

"But one of the things that happened is that what was not done well is as they packed up my offices to move them, they didn't do the kind of job that should have been done to go thoroughly through every single piece of literature that's there," Biden said. "But I'll just let the investigation, you know, decide what's going on, and we'll see what happens."

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Woodruff quickly moved on from her one question on the subject, failing to press him on many unanswered questions from why the White House kept quiet about the first discovery of the classified documents which occurred before the November midterms, to the revelation that classified documents from his days as a senator were also found in his possession. 

This marked Biden's first interview with a journalist since before the midterm elections.

U.S. President Joe Biden reacts at the House Democratic Caucus Issues Conference in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S. March 11, 2022. (REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst)

In a separate part of the interview, the PBS host asked Biden how he "plans to deal" with House Republicans in the new Congress who are set to investigate members of the president's family including his son Hunter over an alleged influence peddling scheme, concerns Biden seemed quick to dismiss.

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"The public's not going to pay attention to that," Biden responded. "They want these guys to do something. If the only thing they can do is make up things about my family, it's not gonna go very far."

Hunter Biden will likely be the subject of multiple investigations being waged by House Republicans in the new Congress. (Kevin Lamarque/Reuters)

Last month, Attorney General Merrick Garland appointed a special counsel to investigate Biden's handling of classified documents, which were discovered in both his Wilmington home and at the Penn Biden Center.

Biden raised eyebrows when he admitted that the classified documents were kept in his garage next to his corvette.

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The president's Republican critics have speculated whether Hunter Biden had access to his father's classified documents, which reportedly involve countries like Ukraine where his embattled son has had business ties. 

In addition to Biden and Trump, former Vice President Mike Pence also revealed that he had found classified documents in his Indiana home shortly after ordering a search of his records. Pence said he takes "full responsibility" for his possession of classified documents.