In appointing Robert Hur to be special counsel in the Biden classified documents probe, Attorney General Merrick Garland laid out more than previously revealed about the timeline of how the documents came to be at the center of the investigation.
Here is an updated timeline of significant developments:
MORE: Who is special counsel Robert Hur, the Trump appointee overseeing DOJ's Biden probe?
US Attorney General Merrick Garland names an independent special counsel to probe President Joe Biden’s alleged mishandling of classified documents at the US Justice Department in Washington, DC, Jan. 12, 2023.Olivier Douliery/AFP via Getty Images
Nov. 4: The National Archives inspector general contacted the Justice Department to say the White House notified the National Archives that documents bearing classification markings were identified at Penn Biden Center, the think tank in Washington, D.C., that President Joe Biden used after leaving office as vice president in 2017. According to Biden's attorneys, the classified materials were from his vice presidency.
Nov 9: FBI commenced an assessment to understand whether classified information had been mishandled.
Nov. 14: Garland assigned U.S. Attorney John Lausch to conduct an initial investigation on whether to appoint a special counsel.
Dec. 20: Biden's personal counsel informed Lausch that additional documents bearing classification markings were identified in the garage of Biden's Wilmington, Delaware, home. The FBI went to the location and secured those documents, Garland said.
Jan. 5: U.S. Attorney Lausch advised Garland that further investigation by a special counsel was warranted. In the days since, Lausch continued the investigation and the DOJ identified Hur for appointment as special counsel.
Jan. 9: Reporting breaks that Garland assigned Lausch to review classified documents found at the Penn Biden Center. The White House confirms that the president's attorneys found a "small number of documents with classified markings" in a locked closet at the center.
MORE: More classified documents found in garage at Biden's Wilmington home, White House says
Jan. 10: Biden said he was "surprised" to learn that there were any government records at the Penn Biden Center, adding, "I don't know what's in the documents."
MORE: Biden 'surprised' about discovery of classified documents and what he's said before
Jan. 12: The president's personal counsel called Lausch and stated that an additional document bearing classification markings was identified at the president's residence in Wilmington.
MORE: More classified documents found in garage at Biden's Wilmington home, White House says
Jan. 12: In a statement, Biden's lawyers reported "a small number" of additional records with classified markings were found at Biden's Wilmington home. His lawyers continue to describe these documents as dating to Biden's vice presidency.
In this Nov. 21, 2019, file photo, U.S. Attorney Robert Hur arrives at U.S. District Court in Baltimore.Steve Ruark/AP, FILE
Jan. 12: Garland signed an order appointing Hur as special counsel and briefed the public on this decision. A spokesman for the White House counsel's office, Ian Sams, told ABC News that the White House did not get advance notice Garland was appointing a special counsel.
"Under the regulations, the extraordinary circumstances here require a special counsel appointment for this matter," Garland said.
MORE: 'Congress has to investigate' Biden documents matter, McCarthy says
On the same day, Biden said he was cooperating fully with Justice Department authorities.
"As part of that process, my lawyers reviewed other places where documents in my — from my time as vice president were stored and they finished the review last night," Biden said. "They discovered a small number of documents with classified markings in storage areas and file cabinets in my home and my personal library."
MORE: Classified documents at Biden's home were tipping point for a special counsel: Sources
Jan. 14: A special counsel for Biden, Richard Sauber, confirmed that "five additional pages" of classified information were found when he was working with the Department of Justice to hand over a one-page classified document found days earlier at the Wilmington home. The pages were identified later on because the personal lawyers who came across the initial classified document did not have a security clearance and, according to procedures outlined by Biden's personal attorney Bob Bauer in a statement, "suspended any further search in that box, file or other specific space where the document was found."
Sourse: abcnews.go.com
