Joe Biden classified documents timeline: Where, when were files found?

President Joe Biden said he had "no regrets" about not disclosing before the November midterm elections the discovery of classified documents at a Washington, D.C., office he occupied after his vice presidency.

"I think you’re going to find there’s nothing there. I have no regrets," Biden said Jan. 19, 2023 in response to a reporter’s question. "I’m following what the lawyers have told me they want me to do. It’s exactly what we’re doing. There is no there there." 

Biden’s remarks stood in contrast to his comments in September 2022 that it was "totally irresponsible" of former President Donald Trump to have classified documents at Mar-a-Lago, his Florida home.

On Feb. 8, 2024, special counsel Robert Hur released a report finding that Biden willfully retained classified documents about Afghanistan and notebooks containing Biden’s handwritten notes about security and foreign policy. But he concluded that no criminal charges were warranted.

Hur considered several factors when weighing whether to charge Biden, including the volume of classified information, the sensitivity of the information, Biden’s motivations and his actions surrounding the documents. 

After an investigation that included more than 100 witnesses, Hur’s team wrote that, despite the investigators’ concerns about how Biden had handled certain materials, a jury would be unlikely to find Biden guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. Hur repeatedly highlighted what the team considered Biden’s "limited" and "poor" memory.

In Biden’s case, some of the documents date back to his time as a U.S. senator (Biden’s decadeslong tenure in the Senate ended early 2009 when he was sworn in as Barack Obama’s vice president).

Here is a timeline outlining what we know about Biden’s documents, based on Hur’s report, news reports and statements by Biden, his lawyers and White House officials.

Nov. 2: Biden’s lawyers discovered documents, some with classification markings, in a locked closet at Biden’s post-vice presidential office at the Penn Biden Center for Diplomacy and Global Engagement in Washington, D.C. They said they found the documents as they were cleaning out the office.

That same day, the White House Counsel’s Office notified the National Archives and Records Administration and the agency took the materials Nov. 3.

Nov. 2 was six days before Election Day. But the information wasn't public until CBS broke the story Jan. 9.

Nov. 3: The National Archives informed the agency’s inspector general about the discovery, according to a timeline provided by Biden’s personal attorney Bob Bauer.

Nov. 4: The National Archives Office of Inspector General contacted a prosecutor at the Department of Justice to inform him that documents bearing classification markings were found at the Penn Biden Center. 

Nov. 9: The FBI began reviewing whether classified information had been mishandled in violation of federal law.

Nov. 10: The Justice Department informed Biden’s personal attorneys of their review; Biden’s lawyers were then in regular contact with the department, according to Bauer.

Nov. 14: Garland directed John Lausch, a U.S. attorney in Chicago, to conduct an initial investigation that would inform Garland whether to appoint a special counsel. 

At some point in November: The FBI searched the Penn Biden Center with the Biden team’s consent, according to Jan. 31 news reports by CBS and other outlets that did not name sources. CNN reported that a search warrant was not used. White House officials and Biden’s personal attorney did not confirm the search to PolitiFact. 

Dec. 20: Biden’s personal attorneys searched his Wilmington’s home garage and "identified a small number of potential records bearing classified markings," according to Bauer. Once the attorneys identified these documents, they stopped their search because they didn’t have security clearances and informed Lausch so that the Justice Department could take the records.

Jan. 5: Lausch advised Garland that further investigation by a special counsel was warranted. 

Jan. 9: CBS reports, without naming its sources, that "roughly 10 documents" were discovered at the Penn Biden Center. The White House confirms the discovery.

Jan. 10: At a press conference in Mexico City, Biden said "people know I take classified documents and classified information seriously." Biden said he was "surprised" that any government records were taken to his office, that he didn’t know what was in the documents and that he was "cooperating fully" with the Justice Department. 

Jan 12: The White House releases a statement acknowledging that Biden’s lawyers searched his Wilmington residence and found a "small number of additional Obama-Biden administration records with classified markings." 

They found those documents in the garage and in an adjacent room and notified the Justice Department. Biden’s lawyers did not find documents in Biden’s house in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware.

A reporter asked Biden about classified materials found next to his Corvette at his Wilmington home. Biden pushed back: "By the way, my Corvette is in a locked garage. OK? So, it’s not like they’re sitting out in the street." He repeated that he’s cooperating with the Justice Department.  

Also on Jan. 12, Garland announced the appointment of U.S. Attorney for Maryland Robert Hur as special counsel to investigate the Biden documents and whether any person or entity violated the law. 

Jan. 14: Richard Sauber, a White House lawyer with security clearance, said he went to Biden’s Wilmington house Jan. 12 to help transfer a document to the Justice Department that was discovered the previous day. On Jan. 12, five additional pages with classification markings were discovered and given to the Justice Department, Sauber said.

Jan. 19: Biden said he had "no regrets" about  not revealing the discovery of the documents before the Nov. 8 midterm elections. 

Jan. 20: The FBI searches Biden’s Wilmington home from about 9:45 a.m. until 10:30 p.m. and finds more documents. 

Jan. 21: Bauer said the Justice Department took "six items consisting of documents with classification markings and surrounding materials" corresponding to Biden’s tenure as vice president and as senator. The statement said the Justice Department also took "personally handwritten notes from the vice presidential years" for further review.

Feb. 1: The Justice Department conducted a search of Biden’s home in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, with Biden’s "full support and cooperation," said Bob Bauer, Biden’s personal attorney.

"Under DOJ’s standard procedures, in the interests of operational security and integrity, it sought to do this work without advance public notice, and we agreed to cooperate," Bauer said. "The search today is a further step in a thorough and timely DOJ process we will continue to fully support and facilitate. We will have further information at the conclusion of today’s search."

Bauer said in a second statement of the day that the search was conducted from 8:30 a.m. to noon and that "no documents with classified markings were found."

"Consistent with the process in Wilmington, the DOJ took for further review some materials and handwritten notes that appear to relate to his time as Vice President," Bauer wrote.

Oct. 8-9: Biden met with Hur, the special counsel leading the investigation, about the handling of classified documents.

"The voluntary interview was conducted at the White House over two days, Sunday and Monday, and concluded Monday," White House spokesperson Ian Sams told the media.

2024

Feb. 8: Hur released a report concluding that no criminal charges were warranted. However, the report criticized Biden’s practices in handling sensitive documents, saying Biden had "willfully retained and disclosed classified materials" as a private citizen after he served as vice president.

This timeline was updated on Feb. 9, 2024.

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