White House won’t say if Biden classified documents searches are over

The White House on Wednesday refused to say if there will be more searches for classified documents kept at private properties belonging to President Biden following the FBI search of his Rehoboth Beach, Del., home earlier in the day in which every room was looked at.

Ian Sams, a White House spokesperson for investigations, told reporters he is “going to be really careful not to characterize what the Justice Department is doing in their investigation” when asked if he can confidently say whether he thinks there are more classified documents in Biden’s possession.

Federal investigators conducted a search of the Rehoboth home from 8:30 a.m. until noon on Wednesday. Biden’s attorney said later that investigators found no classified materials on the property.  

“The Justice Department is engaged in an ongoing investigation, an ongoing investigation, I should add, that the president has been fully cooperative in offering unprecedented access to his home in Wilmington, to his home — every single room of his home in Rehoboth as well as the one in Wilmington and giving them access to the information they need,” Sams said.

“He’s moving quickly to get them the information that they need,” he added.

When asked if the FBI has conducted searches of any other locations associated with the president, Sams said he would not “want to speak too much to the DOJ [Department of Justice] practices and an ongoing investigation.” 

The Sams remarks appeared a bit more cautious than comments weeks ago from White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre, who described a search of Biden’s Wilmington, Del., home as “complete” before investigators found more materials at that residence.

Sams also said he would not “get ahead of potential speculation” of future steps taken in the probe when asked if the president would be willing to sit for an interview as part of the investigation. 

Biden earlier Wednesday did not respond to questions by reporters about whether he would sit with the special counsel appointed to oversee the matter.

The White House has been adamant that Biden has cooperated in the investigation into materials found from his time as vice president and as a senator at his home and a former office he once used in Washington, D.C.  

Multiple outlets reported Tuesday that the FBI had also searched Biden’s old Washington, D.C., office he used from 2017 to 2019 after a small number of classified documents were found there in November.