White House says DOJ, Archives has Biden visitor info as House panel wants access
WASHINGTON — Visitor logs detailing who had access to President Biden’s Delaware home where classified documents from his time as a senator and vice president were improperly stashed away are now in the hands of the Justice Department and National Archives, the White House said Monday.
After the Secret Service initially denied last week that such records existed, the counsel’s office told House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.) that the agencies now had custody of the logs.
“In it, the White House Counsel … explained that the White House does not have possession of the documents, that the Archives and DOJ have taken [them] into their possession and stressed the importance of protecting the integrity and independence of law enforcement investigations,” White House spokesman Ian Sams told reporters.
Comer had formally requested details of visitors to the Wilmington, Del. home in a letter earlier Monday to Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle.
“The US Secret Service protected President Biden during the time he stored these classified materials at his Wilmington residence,” Comer wrote.
“Given the White House’s lack of transparency regarding President Biden’s residential visitor logs, the committee seeks information from the Secret Service regarding who had access to his home since serving as vice president,” the chairman added.
Beginning Dec. 20, the president’s attorneys and law enforcement officials have found multiple batches of sensitive papers at Biden’s home during several searches.
On Saturday, the White House announced that six items marked classified had been removed from the residence the day before by investigators, along with some of Biden’s notes and “surrounding materials.”
The Delaware home became a target of searches after Biden’s attorneys reportedly found 10 pieces of classified material in an abandoned office at the Penn Biden Center in DC on Nov. 2, six days before the midterm elections.
The White House has refused to divulge who may have had access to the documents while visiting the president since he took office in January 2021, insisting that the home is his “personal” residence — despite the fact that Biden has spent all or part of 164 days there across 52 trips since becoming the oldest-ever president.
In the letter, Comer said the committee previously requested a Wilmington visitor log from White House chief of staff Ron Klain on Jan. 15, but were told that administration officials “do not maintain” such information.
On Jan. 16, Secret Service spokesman Anthony Guglielmi initially stated the agency had no information to provide to journalists or members of Congress because “we don’t independently maintain our own visitor logs because it’s a private residence.”
He later walked back that statement, saying Thursday that “the Secret Service does generate law enforcement and criminal justice information records for various individuals who may come into contact with Secret Service protected sites,” prompting Comer to send the Monday letter.
Posting the letter to Twitter, the committee wrote that “The White House’s lack of transparency is concerning.
“Americans need answers now,” it added.
Comer requested the Secret Service provide “all documents and communications related to visitor information” at the Delaware home from Jan. 20, 2017 — the day Biden’s vice presidency ended.
The Oversight Committee is not alone in its interest in the documents. The House Judiciary Committee is looking into the controversy, with member Rep. Mike Johnson (R-La.) saying last week that if no records existed, “we’ll have to seek it through testimony with family members or those who have been at the residence.”
In addition to the Oversight and Judiciary committees, special counsel Robert Hur is reviewing whether Biden or anyone in his orbit violated the law by mishandling records.
