Former Vice President Mike Pence said Friday that he had been previously unaware\u00a0classified documents were at his Indiana home\u00a0but that \u201cmistakes were made\u201d and he takes full responsibility.
\nPence said during remarks at Florida International University that he had thought \u201cout of an abundance of caution, it would be appropriate to review (his) personal records\u201d kept at his Carmel, Indiana, residence after revelations that classified documents had been found at President Joe Biden\u2019s private office and residence dating to his time as vice president.
\nCNN first reported\u00a0that a lawyer for Pence found last week about a dozen documents marked as classified at the former vice president\u2019s home. The former vice president had directed his lawyer, Matt Morgan, who has experience handling classified material, to conduct the search.
\nThe discovery came after Pence had repeatedly said he did not have any classified documents in his possession.
\nPence said Friday that they determined there was a \u201csmall number of documents marked classified or sensitive interspersed in my personal papers,\u201d and that they \u201cimmediately\u201d secured the documents. They then notified the National Archives, turned over the documents to the FBI and communicated the finding to Congress, he said.
\n\u201cAnd while I was not aware that those classified documents were in our personal residence, let me be clear: Those classified documents should not have been in my personal residence. Mistakes were made. And I take full responsibility,\u201d he said.
\nThe FBI and the Justice Department\u2019s National Security Division have launched a review of the documents and how they ended up in Pence\u2019s house. It is not yet clear what the documents are related to or their level of sensitivity or classification.
\nClassified records are supposed to be stored in secure locations. And under the Presidential Records Act, White House records are supposed to go to the National Archives when an administration ends.
\nPence said Friday that there was a \u201cthorough review\u201d of all the documents held in the Office of the Vice President and the vice president\u2019s DC residence at the end of the Trump-Pence administration. \u201cAnd I\u2019m confident that was conducted in a professional manner,\u201d he said.
\nHe also said that he directed his counsel to \u201cfully cooperate\u201d in any investigation and later told reporters: \u201cI welcome the work of the Department of Justice in this case.\u201d
\nBiden\u2019s team discovered classified documents at his Washington, DC, think tank office in November. Biden has said they immediately notified the National Archives, which then notified the Department of Justice, but the discovery was not made public for weeks. Materials were also found at Biden\u2019s Wilmington, Delaware, residence.
\nThe FBI retrieved hundreds of documents from former President Donald Trump\u2019s Florida residence and resort last summer after he failed to comply with a subpoena to hand them over.
\nA special counsel has been named to both the Biden and Trump cases.<\/p>\n