Notebooks that US President Joe Biden kept during his time as vice president were among the items seized by the FBI during a search of his home last week, as part of a probe into his mishandling of classified documents, a person familiar with the investigation told NBC.
\nDespite not being marked as classified, the notebooks were taken because they contain writing related to Biden\u2019s official business within the Obama administration, including details of diplomatic contacts, the broadcaster reported on Saturday.
\nThe notebooks were a mix of records on personal and official topics, the source said, adding that pages with no sensitive data could also be considered state property under the Presidential Records Act, as they relate to the activities of the government.
\nBiden had a\u00a0\u201clarge\u201d\u00a0number of these notebooks, the person said, but could not provide the exact figure.
\nWhen addressed about the notebooks, a spokesperson for Biden\u2019s personal lawyer, Bob Bauer, said that\u00a0\u201cconsistent with our view of the requirements of our cooperation with Department of Justice in this matter, we will not comment on the accuracy of reports of this nature.\u201d
\nThe possession of notebooks from his time as vice president\u00a0\u201craises questions about whether he appropriately followed procedures for preserving presidential records,\u201d\u00a0as well as\u00a0\u201chow other vice presidents and presidents who kept similar notebooks while in office have handled theirs,\u201d\u00a0NBC said.
\nThe 13-hour search conducted by the FBI at the president\u2019s home in Wilmington, Delaware has led to the discovery of six more documents marked as classified, including some dating back to his days as a senator.
\nBiden landed in hot water after it was revealed earlier this month that several batches of government papers, some marked \u2018top secret\u2019, from his two terms as vice president between 2009 and 2017 were found at his office at the Penn Biden Center, a think tank, and at his Delaware home, including in the garage, in November and January. A special counsel was appointed to investigate the mishandling of the documents by the 80-year-old president.<\/p>\n