POLL: Over half of Americans believe Biden mishandled classified documents

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Biden investigation: What are Americans saying about handling of classified docs?

After classified documents were discovered at President Biden's home and office, D.C. residents said the government needs to do a better job handling the materials.

The majority of Americans believe President Joe Biden inappropriately handled classified documents, according to a new poll that revealed the public is closely watching the investigation as many unanswered questions remain.

Classified documents were initially found at Biden's private office at the Penn Biden Center in November, but the discovery was not disclosed to the public until January. After it was revealed the classified materials were recovered, Obama-era documents also turned up in the garage of Biden's Wilmington, Delaware, home. 

A new Quinnipiac University poll released Wednesday revealed that 60% of Americans believe Biden handled classified materials inappropriately, with only 22% saying he did the right thing in his handling of the materials.

According to the poll, 71% of Americans think the discovery of documents is either very serious or somewhat serious.

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The initial set of documents were found in November, but the public was not made aware until January. (Joe Biden 2020)

The White House has not explained why the discovery was not made public sooner after news former President Donald Trump may be in possession of classified materials was blasted almost immediately.

"Roughly two-thirds of Americans are aware of and troubled by the misplaced classified documents found in President Biden's home and private office. But is it a criminal case? No," Tim Malloy, Quinnipiac University Polling Analyst, said alongside the polling data.

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As Biden weighs a 2024 re-election bid, the president saw a 4-point decrease in his approval when compared to a December Quinnipiac poll, with 53% now disapproving of the job he is doing as president.

According to the survey, 67% of individuals said they are following news about the discovery of these documents very closely.

A special counsel was appointed to investigate Biden's handling of classified documents. (Andrew Caballero)

Biden initially said he was "surprised" to hear of the discovery, before telling Fox News' Peter Doocy a few days later that he knew they were in his garage. "So the documents were in a locked garage?" Doocy asked.

"Yes, as well as my Corvette," Biden responded.

Fox News Digital recently hit the streets of Washington, D.C., to ask citizens what their thoughts were on the loose handling of classified materials after both Trump and Biden were found to have kept documents after leaving office. 

"I think the public library does a better job of keeping track of their books," one man said, agreeing with the majority of individuals who expressed that the government should do more to protect these documents.

This image contained in a court filing by the Department of Justice Aug. 30, 2022, and redacted by in part by the FBI, shows a photo of documents seized during the Aug. 8 search by the FBI of former President Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida.  (Department of Justice via AP)

The poll also revealed that a majority of individuals, 68%, disapprove of how Biden is handling the crisis at the southern border, while 61% also disapprove of his handling of the economy after inflation hit a 40-year-high of 9.1% in June.

About 47% disapprove of Biden's response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, along with the 54% who disapprove of how he is handling foreign policy.

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The Quinnipiac University poll was conducted from Jan. 11-15 with a margin of error of plus or minus 2.4 percentage points.

Fox News' Jon Michael Raasch contributed to this report.