Classified intel regarding Ukraine among documents discovered in Biden's private office: report

Classified materials discovered in Biden’s private academic office contained US intelligence memos and briefing materials that covered topics including Ukraine, Iran, and the United Kingdom, according to an exclusive report from CNN.

A total of 10 documents were found and were dated between 2013 and 2016. They were discovered on November 2, just six days before the midterm elections, but only became public on Monday due to a series of news reports.

"The source told CNN that a personal lawyer for Biden was closing out the downtown DC office that Biden used as part his work with the University of Pennsylvania," CNN's report states. "The lawyer saw an envelope with markings indicating they were the former vice president’s personal documents, opened the envelope and noticed there were classified documents inside. The lawyer closed the envelope and called NARA, the source said."

Lawyers for Biden discovered the documents while clearing out the office space and handed them over to the National Archives, which handles all such materials, Biden's special counsel Richard Sauber said.

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"The White House is cooperating with the National Archives and the Department of Justice," Sauber said in a statement.

Sauber described it as "a small number of documents with classified markings" that were found at the Penn Biden Center, a think tank affiliated with the University of Pennsylvania. He said they were in a locked closet at the time.

"The documents were not the subject of any previous request or inquiry" and since handing them over, Biden's attorneys have also cooperated "to ensure that any Obama-Biden Administration records are appropriately in the possession of the Archives," he said.

CBS News reported that Attorney General Merrick Garland has assigned the US attorney in Chicago to review the documents and that the FBI is also investigating.

With additional reporting by AFP