Top congressional leaders to receive briefing on classified documents

Congressional leaders and top Intelligence committee members will receive a briefing on Tuesday about the classified documents found at the homes of President Biden, former President Trump and former Vice President Mike Pence, two sources familiar with the planned meeting told The Hill.

The group of lawmakers, also known as the “Gang of 8,” will learn more about what was included in the various batches of documents. The discovery of the documents raised questions about the handling of classified papers within the executive branch. 

The briefing comes after months of sparring between the Justice Department and congressional leaders, including top Intelligence panel members who have been clamoring for access to those documents. Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Mark Warner (D-Va.) had made clear his dissatisfaction with the Biden administration’s lack of cooperation on the topic. 

Warner, along with Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), the top Republican on the committee, in January warned the administration that “all things will be on the table” in order to view the documents in question. A week later, they called for “immediate compliance” from administration officials. 

The two senators dismissed the Department of Justice’s argument that the documents couldn’t be shared with lawmakers because of its ongoing probe into whether classified information was mishandled. Special counsels were appointed to examine the handling of documents by Biden and Trump. 

Hundreds of classified documents, including some marked “top secret,” were found during the FBI’s raid of the former president’s Mar-a-Lago home in August. Months later, reports emerged that classified papers were found at Biden’s Delaware home and at an old office. He has maintained that he did not know they were there. 

More than a dozen classified papers were found at Pence’s home in Indiana. A special counsel has not been appointed to examine his situation.