The FBI searched President Joe Biden’s beach house outside Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, on Wednesday morning, two sources familiar with the situation told NBC News.
A third source familiar with the matter said there was no warrant involved and the search was consensual. It’s not clear if the FBI agents are looking for something they know about or if it’s a broad search for more classified documents.
Biden’s personal lawyer, Bob Bauer, said in a statement that the Justice Department was conducting the search with Biden’s full support and cooperation.
«Per DOJ’s standard procedures, in the interest of operational security and integrity, you sought to do this work without prior public notice, and we agreed to cooperate,» Bauer said. «Today’s search is one more step in a thorough and timely Department of Justice process that we will continue to fully support and facilitate. We will have more information after today’s search is complete.»
Documents with classified markings were previously found at Biden’s Wilmington residence and at an office of a Washington think tank, but Bauer said earlier this month that no classified documents were found at the president’s beach house. Biden’s personal attorneys had searched additional records at the Wilmington and Rehoboth Beach residences, he said.
“The president’s personal attorneys located a potential record with classified markings at the Wilmington residence, among materials stored within a room adjacent to the garage,” Bauer said in the earlier statement. “Once the President’s personal lawyers found this document, the President’s personal lawyers left the document where it was found and stopped searching for the specific space where it was located. Following the search of the Wilmington residence, the attorneys drove to the Rehoboth residence and conducted a search there. No potential searches were identified at the Rehoboth Beach residence, and attorneys returned to Washington, DC, late that evening.»
The FBI previously searched the offices of the Penn Biden Center for Diplomacy and Global Engagement in mid-November after classified documents were discovered there, NBC News reported Tuesday.
This is a developing story. Please check for updates.