Rep. Mike Turner calls Biden a 'serial classified documents hoarder'
Rep. Mike Turner, R-Ohio, blasted President Biden as another batch of classified documents is found in his Wilmington, Del., home.
Rep. Mike Turner, R-Ohio, blasted President Biden as a "serial classified documents hoarder" after a fourth discovery of mishandled classified documents.
White House lawyers reportedly requested the FBI search that unveiled a fourth batch of misplaced classified documents inside President Biden's private residence in Wilmington, Del., on Friday, seizing an additional six items consisting of classified material. The latest pile was the fourth to be found since November, and the third to be found inside Biden's private residence. The classified documents date back to Biden's tenure as vice president and even further back to his time in the Senate.
"Clearly he's become a serial classified document hoarder," Turner, who is expected to head up the House Intelligence Committee, said on "Face the Nation" Sunday. "Why did he have these? Who did he show them to? The only reason you can think of as to why anyone would take classified documents out of a classified space at home, is to show them to somebody."
"Who did he show them to?" Turner continued. "This is going to be crucial, I think, to the special counsel's investigation, is why did the president have these documents? Who did he show them to? And is it connected to the Biden family businesses?"
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Rep. Mike Turner, R-Ohio, on "America's Newsroom." (Fox News)
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"Face the Nation" host Margaret Brennan made a distinction between Biden's documents and the controversy over President Trump's, in which "there was a warrant and a refusal to comply in terms of handing things over." In Biden's case, Brennan said, the White House and the president's lawyer are pointing out that Biden granted permission.
"Does the fact that the Justice Department conducted the search signify anything more to you and do you have any insight into the sensitivity of the documents?" Brennan asked her guest.
Turner said that the Justice Department's investigation looks more like a "cover-up."
U.S. President Joe Biden walks to speak to reporters as he and first lady Jill Biden leave the White House and walk to Marine One on the South Lawn on December 27, 2022, in Washington, D.C. (Anna Moneymaker)
Brennan also asked Turner if he had any proof Biden was "hoarding" documents intentionally, as opposed to it being accidental. The president's special counsel has maintained they are "confident" the Biden documents were "inadvertently misplaced."
"We are confident that a thorough review will show that these documents were inadvertently misplaced, and the president and his lawyers acted promptly upon discovery of this mistake," Richard Sauber, special counsel to the president, said in a statement.
"Well, they didn't fly to his home without him," Turner said of the documents Sunday. "They went on a train with him from the - his Senate offices and then in boxes that he was in charge of. The chain of custody here is going to be important, because we know that these were in Joe Biden's hands and Joe Biden's control, then ended up behind his Corvette in his garage and in his office, that he did not control, and also throughout his house – so the special counsel is gonna have to deal with the issue of what was the chain of custody?"
Turner has asked for a classified briefing from Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines, giving her a Thursday deadline.
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Some Democrats have, likewise, hit Biden for the classified documents discovery. Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., called it "irresponsible" on Sunday and said Biden "should have a lot of regrets" regarding how he handled classified materials. Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., said last week she was "glad" a special counsel had been appointed to investigate the matter, and that the matter "should be taken serious."
Fox News' Anders Hagstrom contributed to this report
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