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FBI to search former US vice president's home for more classified documents

Former USVice President Mike Pence speaks about border security at Cochise College in Sierra Vista, Arizona, US, June 13, 2022. (Reuters photo)

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is soon expected to search former US Vice President Mike Pence's Indiana home and Washington, DC, office for classified material, according to American media reports.

The Justice Department is talking with Pence's legal team about planning the search of his Indiana home, the Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday, citing people familiar with the matter.

Meanwhile, CNN reported that Pence's Washington office was also expected to be searched by federal agents.

The FBI declined to comment on the report, and the Department of Justice did not immediately respond to a request for comment by Reuters.   Neither Pence’s lawyers commented on the report.

Pence is the latest high-ranking politician to be put in the spotlight for the discovery of the documents marked as classified at his Indiana residence.

Last week, Pence’s attorney, Greg Jacob, disclosed that documents marked as classified had been found at his Indiana home. The representative said a "small number of records were accidentally boxed and transported to his home as he left office in 2021".

 It is not clear what information the documents contain. According to US media, the documents are believed to have first been taken to his home in Virginia before later being sent to Indiana.

The Wall Street Journal reported that Pence’s legal team considered the earlier search of the former president’s home thorough and didn't believe there were additional classified documents.

CNN also reported that Pence's team does not believe there are classified records at either his home or his office.

The FBI and the Justice Department's National Security Division have launched a review of the documents and how they ended up in Pence's house in Indiana.

The discovery of classified records put Pence in the company of former President Donald Trump and incumbent President Joe Biden after documents with classified markings were found at their residences.

On Wednesday, the FBI conducted a search of Biden's beach house in Rehoboth, Delaware as part of a probe into his handling of classified documents.

The search by FBI agents is part of an investigation to track down improperly stored classified documents.

Classified materials were previously found at his home in Wilmington, Delaware, and at a Washington office, which he used during the time between his service as vice president under Barack Obama and his presidential election, according to Reuters.

The new probe is part of a wider investigation into the discovery of a trove of classified material in Biden's private office and the Florida residence of Trump.

Records from each administration are supposed to be turned over during a presidential transition period. It is unlawful to knowingly remove or retain classified material.


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