Clinton, Obama, Bush reps: All 3 presidents returned classified docs
3 Min Read
These statements arise in light of the scandals of mishandled confidential documents uncovered by another campaign of FBI raids on presidential residences and offices.
-
Ex-US presidents Barack Obama, George W. Bush and Bill Clinton during the Presidents Golf Cup in 2017 (Getty Images)
In a report published by CNN, and amid a classified-documents raid on US presidents, it was reported that former US presidents Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, and Barack Obama submitted all classified documents to the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) immediately after their departure from office, and no additional searches were carried out.
"All of President Clinton's classified materials were properly turned over to NARA in accordance with the Presidential Records Act," Clinton's office claimed, which CNN cited in its report alongside Bush and Obama's representatives who confirmed that no additional searches of the ex-presidents' residents or offices were done.
Read next: Total number of classified docs found at Biden's office rises to 20
These statements arise in light of the scandals of mishandled confidential documents uncovered by another campaign of FBI raids on presidential residences and offices - starting with former president Donald Trump, then President Joe Biden, and just recently Trump VP Mike Pence.
Biden: 'No regrets'
US media reported that 10 highly confidential documents belonging to the UK, Iran, and Ukraine were discovered by Biden's personal lawyers at one of his offices, which led to the launch of a federal probe. The feds then raided his personal residence in Wilmington, Delaware, and found another set of packages of classified official papers. It went downhill from there.
Another set of documents was found at the Penn Biden Center for Diplomacy in three or four boxes and was dated between 2013 and 2016, a time during which Biden served as vice-President to Obama.
The revelations have become a political liability as he prepares to run for reelection, undermining his efforts to create an image of propriety to the American public following the chaotic presidency of his predecessor, Trump.
Attorney General Merrick Garland appointed the US attorney from Chicago, John Lausch Jr., to look over documents, a move that was made after receiving a referral from the NARA. Biden, on the other hand, says he has "no regrets" over the mishandling of classified records that were recently found in his private office and garage.
Earlier, Biden said that he was "surprised" to learn that classified documents were taken to his personal office after he left the vice presidency and that he has no idea what is in the records. Meanwhile, Democratic and Republican leaders on Capitol Hill demanded more information about the discovery that prompted a Justice Department investigation.
Last August, classified documents about nuclear weapons found with Trump instigated one of the biggest fed searches that took place at Trump's Mar-a-Lago home in Florida. Thousands, not hundreds, of confidential documents, were found by the FBI. The ex-president fought back against the FBI procedures and got into a legal debate with the Department of Justice after he claimed the raids were politically motivated.
