An attorney for Mike Pence revealed on Tuesday that classified documents were found in the former vice-president’s home in Indiana.
The classified documents were found on Jan. 16 at Pence’s home in Carmel, Indiana after he directed staff to search his own home and records “out of an abundance of caution” following the news that classified material were discovered in President Joe Biden’s private office and residence, according to CNN.
Pence’s attorney alerted the National Archives to the discovery of the documents and agents from the FBI’s field office in Indianapolis later picked up the classified files from Pence’s home.
“Vice President Pence was unaware of the existence of sensitive or classified documents at his personal residence,” Pence’s lawyer Greg Jacob wrote in a letter to the National Archives. “Vice President Pence understands the high importance of protecting sensitive and classified information and stands ready and willing to cooperate fully with the National Archives and any appropriate inquiry.”
In November, Pence told ABC News that he did not have any classified files at his home.
“Well, there’d be no reason to have classified documents, particularly if they were in an unprotected area,” Pence said. “But I will tell you that I believe there had to be many better ways to resolve that issue than executing a search warrant at the personal residence of a former president of the United States.”
Pence told CBS News earlier this month that he was “confident” there were no classified materials in his possession from his time as VP.
In an interview with Fox Business on Jan. 12, he said, “the handling of classified materials and the nation’s secret is a very serious matter and as a former vice president of the United States, I can speak from personal experience about the attention that ought to be paid to those materials when you’re in office and after you leave office. And clearly that did not take place in this case.”
The FBI and the Justice Department are investigating how the documents ended up in Pence’s house.
