White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre is declining to address why it took over two months for news about classified documents found in an office used by President Joe Biden to come to light.
During a press briefing Wednesday, a reporter noted, “These documents were discovered on Nov. 2. This didn’t become public until my colleagues at CBS News reported this on Monday. That’s more than two months later.”
He asked, “Why was the public not informed while the White House prepared its PR response for two months?”
“This is under review by the Department of Justice,” Jean-Pierre responded.
She added, “I’m not going to go beyond what the president shared yesterday. I’m not going to go beyond what my colleagues at the White House Counsel shared with all of you as well.”
Watch the video below:
"These documents were discovered on November 2nd…this didn't become public until…more than two months later. Why was the public not informed while the White House prepared its PR response for two months?"
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) January 11, 2023
KJP: "I'm not going to go beyond what the president shared yesterday." pic.twitter.com/7pFg7thQyG
She also noted Biden said he does not know what is contained in the documents.
“So, there’s no way for me to talk about the documents if he has said he doesn’t know what’s in them,” the press secretary added.
At a separate point, CBS News’ Ed O’Keefe also asked why Biden or a White House official did not inform the public about the discovery of the documents in November.
“Did it have anything to do with the fact that the election was just a few days away?”
Jean-Pierre responded, “Again, Ed, this is under review by the Department of Justice. It is literally under review right now. As I am talking to you, it is under review. So I’m not going to get beyond the process. I’m not going to get beyond what the president said.”
KJP gets testy with a reporter:
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) January 11, 2023
"We work very well together. We don't need to have this kind of confrontation." pic.twitter.com/g4rX8xV5aJ
On Monday, it was reported a U.S. attorney is reviewing approximately 10 classified documents found in an office used by Biden.
Biden’s lawyers reportedly contacted the National Archives on Nov. 2, 2022, after they discovered documents from his time as vice president in an office he used while he was an honorary professor at the University of Pennsylvania. The discovery of the documents occurred less than a week before the election.
The documents were reportedly retrieved the following day.
The revelation comes months after the FBI raided former President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate and recovered classified documents.
Biden told reporters on Tuesday he was “surprised to learn that there were any government records that were taken there to that office.”
“But I don’t know what’s in the documents. My lawyers have not suggested I ask what documents they were,” he added.
